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Guide  to  Princeton 


Guide  to  Princeton 


The  Town 
The  University 


By 


^ 


OCTie  1919 


v/ 


Varnum  Lansing  Collins 


Princeton  University  Press 

Princeton,  N.  J. 

London:  Humphrey  Milford 

Oxford  University  Press 

1919 


Copyright,    1919,  by 

The    Princeton    University    Press, 

Princeton,    N.    J. 


Published    1919 


Foreword 

This  Guide  attempts  to  be  nothing  more 
than  an  aid  to  the  transient  visitor  who  de- 
sires not  only  to  see  the  University  intelli- 
gently but  also  to  have  pointed  out  to  him 
some  of  the  historic  or  otherwise  interesting 
spots  in  or  near  the  village  of  Princeton. 

For  fuller  details  than  could  properly  be 
included  in  the  purpose  of  this  little  book, 
the  reader  is  referred  to:  J.  F.  Hageman, 
Princeton  and  Its  Institutions;  J.  R.  Wil- 
liams, Handbook  of  Princeton;  John  Mac- 
lean, History  of  the  College  of  Neiv  Jersey; 
E.  M.  Norris,  Story  of  Princeton;  and  V.  L. 
Collins,  Princeton.  The  last  three  volumes 
relate  only  to  the  University. 


''There  they  are!  above  the  green  trees  shh  ing — 
Old  towers  that  top  the  castles  of  our  dreams — "" 
— Robert  Bridges,  "The  Tozvers  of  Princeton." 


CONTENTS 

Foreword 5 

The  Town  11 

Walks 56 

The  University 57 


The  Town 


The  Town 

Against  the  northwest  sky-line  as  the  train 
reaches  Princeton  Junction,  half  way  be- 
tween New  York  and  Philadelphia,  across 
three  miles  of  green  fields  and  woodland 
the  gray  roofs  and  towers  of  Princeton  may 
be  seen  lifting  above  the  trees. 

The  hamlet  which  in  1724  was  thus  named 
was  settled  before  the  end  of  the  17th  cen- 
tury; but  as  late  as  1675  the  region  was 
still  a  wilderness,  with  but  a  single  Indian, 
trail  through  it,  "a.  small  path"  so  a  Quaker 
pioneer  called  it,  along  which  one  travelled 
all  day  *'and  saw  no  tame  creature."  Like 
most  Indian  trails,  this  one  followed  high 
ground,  and  eventually  became  the  main 
post  road  between  New  York  and  Philadel- 
phia, the  King's  Highway  on  which  was 
played  the  varying  pageant  of  colonial  days'. 


12  Guide    to    Princeton 

Along  this  route  Washington  with  his  army 
retreated  across  New  Jersey  in  1776,  and 
after  the  Battle  of  Princeton  followed 
it  back  through  the  village  as  far  as 
Kingston  where  he  turned  off  to  Morris- 
town  and  safety.  It  is  now  a  portion  of 
the  Lincoln  Highway.  So  much  as  lies 
within  the  borough  of  Princeton  is  today 
known  as  Nassau  Street  and  its  extension 
Stockton  Street. 

As  the  halfway  halting-place  for  the  stage 
coaches  to  and  from  Philadelphia  and  New 
York,  the  village  acquired  importance  even 
before  the  natural  advantages  of  its  physical 
situation  brought  to  it  the  final  location  of 
the  College  of  New  Jersey.  The  taverns 
at  Princeton  were  reputed  to  be  better  than 
average,  and  one  or  two  remained  famous 
long  after  coaching  days  were  over. 
Among  those  which  have  vanished,  t)he 
*TIudibras,"  situated  at  the  corner  of  Nas- 
sau Street  and  College  Place,  (formerly 
College  Lane),  the  driveway  on  the  Uni- 
versity campus  leading  between  Dickinson 
Hall  and  the  Library,  was  one  of  the  best 


The    Town  13 

known.  By  1765  it  was  already  "noted 
and  well  accustomed."  At  the  "Hudibras" 
John  Adams,  future  president  of  the  United 
States,  put  up  when  he  spent  a  Sunday  in 
Princeton  in  1774  with  other  New  England 
delegates  to  the  First  Continental  Cogress 
at  Philadelphia.  The  Inn  was  kept  at  that 
time  by  Colonel  Jacob  Hyer,  a  Revolu- 
tionary character  and  local  quartermaster. 
Probably  the  oldest  buildings  still  ex- 
tant on  Nassau  Street  were  former  inns, 
as  for  example,  the  modest  two-story  build- 
ing at  68  and  70  Nassau  Street.  This 
former  tavern  is  mentioned,  it  is  believed, 
as  early  as  1750.  During  the  Revolution  it 
was  known  as  the  "Washington  Arms 
House."  It  then  had  a  green  in  front  of 
it  and  a  flag  staff  around  which  the  Fourth 
of  July  was  celebrated.  Rochambeau  spent 
a  night  here  in  August  1781  when  his  army 
encamped  at  Princeton  on  the  way  to  York- 
town.  It  figured  in  October  1781  in  the 
local  celebration  of  Cornwallis'  surrender, 
and  in  1783  in  the  celebration  of  the  cessa- 
tion of  hostilities. 


14  Guide    to    Princeton 

Just  as  old,  although  it  has  not  preserved 
its  ancient  appearance,  is  the  Nassau  Inn, 
the  oldest  hotel  in  Princeton.  The  original 
portion  of  the  building  was  erected  in  1757 
as  the  private  residence  of  Judge  Thomas 
Leonard,  being  then  the  finest  house  in  the 
village,  the  brick  having  been  imported  from 
Holland.  It  has  been  a  hotel  continuously 
since  1769.  In  the  i8th  century  it  was  best 
known  as  the  "Sign  of  the  College,"  or  as 
the  "College  Inn."  During  the  opening 
years  of  the  19th  century  John  Gifford  won 
high  reputation  as  its  proprietor.  In  his 
advertisement  in  the  newspapers  of  1800  he 
suggests  the  reason : 

"The  traveller  who  shapes  his  way 
Thro'  heat  and  cold,  thro'  thick  and  thin, 
Secure  shall  meet,  all  times  of  day, 
Kind  treatment  at  the  College  Inn." 

Most  popular  of  all  the  proprietors  of 
this  famous  hostelry  however  was  Gifford's 
successor,  John  Joline,  who  managed  the 
establishment  from  about  181 2  to  1836. 
During  his  proprietorship  coaching  travel 
"through  Princeton  reached  its  height ;  newer 
and  handsomer  vehicles  took  the  place  of 


The    Town  15 

old;  there  were  several  competing  lines; 
as  many  as  fifteen  coaches  would  often  start 
oflf  each  way  together,  and  a  hundred  horses 
would  be  waiting  to  take  the  place  of  jaded 
steeds  arriving.  Obviously  Joline's  was  an 
exciting  and  popular  resort,  and  the  students 
of  the  college  were  forbidden  not  only  to 
enter  the  tavern  but  even  to  loiter  around 
arriving  or  departing  coaches.  The  col- 
lege Commencement  ball  was  usually  held 
at  Joline's,  and  is  often  referred  to  by  con- 
temporary travelers.  It  was  here  that  James 
K.  Paulding  and  Washington  Irving,  im- 
mortalizing a  visit  to  Princeton  in  181 3, 
set  the  scene  of  the  "Lay  of  the  Scottish 
Fiddler," — an  itinerant  minstrel  who  accord- 
ing to  the  last  lines  of  the  poem  long  re- 
mained a  ghostly  visitant  of  the  old  tavern : 

"Once  a  year  he  deigns  to  play- 
First  fiddle  on  Commencement  Day, 
When  in  Joline's  high  stately  hall 
Is  held  the  students'  annual  ball." 

The  ball  now  takes  place  in  the  gymna- 
sium, and  the  only  formal — or  informal — 
college  function  connected  with  "The  Nass" 
is  the  speech  delivered  from  the  balcony  as  a 


1 6  Guide    to    Princeton 

feature  of  the  undergraduate  St.  Patrick's 
Day  Parade. 

Across  the  street  is  the  First  Presbyter- 
ian Church  of  which  the  organization 
dates  from  1755,  aUhough  no  step  was  taken 
toward  erecting  a  church  before  1762. 
Prior  to  this  date  the  people  of  Princeton 
rented  pews  in  the  college  chapel  in  Nassau 
Hall,  and  heard  Presidents  Aaron  Burr, 
Jonathan  Edwards,  Samuel  Davies  and 
Samuel  Finley,  who,  besides  being  presi- 
dents of  the  college,  were  also  pastors  of  the 
local  congregation.  In  1762  the  college 
loaned  both  money  and  land  to  the  churcli 
for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a  building  but 
the  edifice  was  not  completed  until  1766. 
It  stood  on  the  present  site  but  was  placed 
parallel  to  the  street.  On  the  occupation 
of  Princeton  by  the  British  ten  years  later, 
troops  were  quartered  in  the  church,  a 
fireplace  was  built  in  it,  a  chimney  was 
carried  through  the  roof,  and  the  pews  and 
gallery  were  used  for  fuel.  On  the  evacua- 
tion of  Princeton  by  the  enemy,  the  church 
"was  used  by  the  American  troops  and  it 
was  not  fully  restored  until  after  the  close 


The    Tozmt  17 

of  the  war.  By  arrangement  with  the 
church,  the  college  Commencements  until 
1896  were  held  here,  one  or  two  of  them 
being  famous.  The  most  interesting  was 
that  of  1783  attended  by  General  Washing- 
ton, the  Continental  Congress,  the  French 
Minister,  La  Luzerne,  and  important  offi- 
,cials  of  the  national  government.  In  181 4, 
General  Winfield  Scott,  commanding  a  body 
of  troops  on  their  way  to  the  front,  was  a 
distinguished  guest  at  the  Commencement 
exercises  and  the  recipient  of  marked  honors. 
The  church  had  been  destroyed  by  fire  the 
year  before  and  had  been  rebuilt  in  haste, 
but  in  the  present  situation  at  right  angles 
to  the  street.  It  was  burned  down  a  second 
time  in  1835.  The  present  edifice  dates 
from  that  restoration  with  certain  modern 
alterations  and  improvements.  The  present 
parsonage  is  on  Library  Place,  but  a  for- 
mer parsonage  was  the  Wiggins  House  on 
Witherspoon  Street. 

On  the  corner  of  Chambers  Street  is  the 
Second  Presbyterian  Church,  organized  in 
1847.  The  present  building  dates  from 
1868,  but  still  lacks  its  steeple. 


l8  Guide    to    Princeton 

At  the  west  end  of  Nassau  Street,  beyond 
University  Place  and  Mercer  Street,  past 
the  small  park  where  Bayard  Lane  turns 
sharply  to  the  right,  Nassau  Street  contin- 
ues as  Stockton  Street. 

A  few  yards  along  Stockton  Street  on  the 
left  is  Trinity  Church,  organized  in  1833. 
The  present  building  dates  from  1868  and 
has  recently  been  enlarged  and  beautified 
by  a  stone  choir  and  apse  designed  by  Ralph 
Adams  Cram.  The  tower  contains  a  chime 
of  ten  bells  by  Meneely,  all  of  which  are 
memorials.  In  the  church  are  numerous 
memorials  to  early  parishioners.  A  stone 
set  over  the  chancel  door  is  from  the  13th 
century  church  of  St.  Oswald's  at  Malpas, 
the  Stockton  home  in  England.  The  church 
property  extends  through  to  Mercer  Street. 
Opposite  Trinity  Church  is  the  former 
Princeton  Inn,  now  a  girls'  school,  on 
land  which  formed  part  of  the  estate  of 
"Morven."  The  Princeton  Battle  Monu- 
ment is  between  the  Inn  and  "Morven." 
The  group,  which  is  26  feet  high  placed  in 
relief  against  a  50-foot  column,  represents 
Washington  on  horseback  sternly  refusing 


The    Tozvn  19 

defeat  at  the  Battle  of  Princeton,  and  in- 
spiring his  tired  troops  to  final  victory.  The 
female  figure  is  young  Liberty  with  a  banner 
urging  the  soldiers  forward.  The  group  is 
by  Macmonnies,  and  the  architectural  de- 
sign by  Thomas  Hastings. 

Morven  has  been  the  home  of  the  Prince- 
ton Stocktons  since  Richard  Stockton, 
grandfather  of  the  Signer  of  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  purchased  the  land 
from  William  Penn  in  1701.  The  Signer's 
father  built  the  main  portion  of  the  house 
probably  between  1701  and  1709.  The 
name  dates  from  the  time  of  Richard  Stock- 
ton, the  Signer.  He  improved  the  planta- 
tion extensively,  the  row  of  catalpas  on  the 
street  front  and  most  if  not  all  of  the  older 
trees  on  the  property,  which  in  his  day  was 
very  extensive,  being  set  out  by  him.  He 
and  his  wife  made  "Morven"  one  of  the 
most  charming  residences  in  the  State,  no 
less  famous  for  the  beauty  of  its  garden  and 
grounds  than  for  the  hospitality  of  its  own- 
ers. Enlarged  by  later  generations,  the 
home  has,  however,  maintained  its  colonial 
atmosphere.     The  old  brick  slave  quarters 


20  Guide    to   Princeton 

are  still  to  be  seen  in  the  rear.  When  the 
British  occupied  Princeton  in  1776  "Mor- 
ven"  was  for  a  time  the  headquarters  of 
Lord  CornwalHs.  The  house  and  property 
suffered  in  the  general  plundering  of  the 
neighborhood.  The  history  of  the  house  is 
brilliant,  but  possibly  it  never  had  a  more 
interesting  period  than  when  the  Continen- 
tal Congress  was  in  Princeton  in  the  sum- 
mer and  autumn  of  1783  and  Mr.  Elias 
Boudinot,  president  of  Congress  and  brother 
of  Mrs.  Stockton,  made  "Morven"  his  offi- 
cial residence,  with  the  result  that  it  en- 
tertained a  succession  of  distinguished 
guests.  A  particularly  memorable  state  din- 
ner was  served  on  the  Fourth  of  July  in 
1783  when  the  entire  Congress  was  present. 
General  Washington  was  a  warm  friend  of 
Mrs.  Stockton  and  among  his  papers  are 
several  autograph  specimens  of  her  skill 
at  verse  writing,  addressed  to  him,  with  cop- 
ies of  his  acknowledgments. 

Opposite  "Morven"  is  Thomson  Hall, 
formerly  "Belgarde,"  the  residence  of  the 
late  Mrs.  Josephine  Thomson  Swann  of 
Princeton,    who    bequeathed    the    property 


The    Town  21 

to  the  borough  of  Princeton  as  a  town  hall 
and  park.  The  house  contains  an  auditor- 
ium and  public  library,  while  the  executive 
offilces  of  the  borough  are  in  a  separate 
building  on  the  Mercer  Street  side  of  the 
grounds. 

,  In  Thomson  Hall  may  be  seen  the  ship's 
bell  of  the  U.  S.  S.  Princeton,  the  first  screw 
propelled  steam  war  vessel  ever  built.  De- 
signed by  the  famous  engineer  Ericsson, 
under  the  patronage  of  Commodore  (then 
Captain)  R.  F.  Stockton,  it  was  named  in 
the  latter's  honor  after  his  home  town.  In 
February  1844  on  the  Potomac  River,  one  of 
her  guns,  the  "Peacemaker,"  then  the  largest 
piece  of  ordnance  afloat,  burst,  killing  sev- 
eral distinguished  guests,  among  them  the 
Secretary  of  State  and  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy. 

Just  within  the  entrance  to  the  grounds 
of  Thomson  Hall  is  Rose  Cottage — so 
known  at  least  as  early  as  1803,  when  it 
was  the  residence  of  Mrs.  Robert  Field, 
daughter  of  Richard  Stockton,  the  Signer. 
The  rose  gardens  from  which  it  derived  it 
name  have  long  since  disappeared,  and  the 


22  Guide    to    Princeton 

cottage  during  the  recent  European  war  was 
a  tea-house  conducted  by  a  group  of  ladies 
of  Princeton  in  the  interest  of  the  Red 
Cross  and  of  French  reconstruction  work, 
having  under  its  particular  care  the  village 
of  Saint  Paul  aux  Bois. 

Returning  now  to  Bayard  Lane,  on  the 
right  hand  corner  is  the  Garrett  House, 
owned  by  Mr.  Robert  Garrett  of  Baltimore, 
and  built  by  Mr.  John  Potter  in  1825,  being 
the  residence  of  Commodore  R.  F.  Stock- 
ton, U.  S.  N.,  during  his  father's  lifetime. 
The  second  house  on  the  left  hand  side  of 
this  street  is  The  Peacock  Inn,  an  old  resi- 
dence moved  from  Nassau  Street  (approxi- 
mately where  Madison  Hall  begins)  to  make 
room  for  University  Hotel  (afterwards 
known  as  University  Hall),  which  was  itself 
removed  to  make  room  for  Madison  Hall. 
The  house  was  the  i8th  century  home  of 
Jonathan  Deare,  a  prominent  Princeton  pa- 
triot, member  of  the  New  Jersey  Provincial 
Congress  in  1775  and  later  of  the  State  Leg- 
islature. After  removal  to  Bayard  Lane,  it 
was  occupied  by  Colonel  William  Libbey  of 
Princeton    until    the    erection    of    Thanet 


The    Town  23 

Lodge,  his  large  stone  residence  diagonally 
across  the  street  in  the  residence  park 
"Greenholm."  This  park  was  formerly  a 
playing  field  used  by  the  undergraduates  of 
the  college. 

North  of  Thanet  Lodge  is  Avalon,  the 
home  of  Dr.  Henry  van  Dyke.  Part  of  the 
house  dates  from  the  i8th  century  so  it  is 
believed,  at  that  time  being  owned  by  Dr. 
Edmund  Bainbridge,  uncle  of  the  Commo- 
dore (see  later,  Bainbridge  House),  and 
subsequently  by  the  Hon.  Samuel  Bayard. 
Across  the  street  from  Avalon  is  West- 
land,  residence  of  the  late  Ex-President 
Grover  Cleveland,  who  died  here  in  1908 
(buried  in  Princeton  Cemetery).  The  house 
was  built  in  1854  by  the  celebrated  Commo- 
dore Robert  F.  Stockton,  for  his  daughter. 
Next  to  Avalon  is  Merwick,  the  present 
residence  of  the  Right  Rev.  Paul  Matthews, 
Bishop  of  New  Jersey,  but  formerly  the 
residence  of  Professor  George  L.  Raymond, 
and  later  used  by  the  Graduate  School  of  the 
University  as  a  residential  building,  being 
Princeton's  original  Graduate  College. 
Further  down  the  hill  on  the  same  side  is 


24  Guide    to    Princeton 

Stanworth,  the  home  of  Professor  Wil- 
liam M.  Sloane  of  Columbia  University  and 
formerly  of  Princeton  University.  Inside 
the  gate  of  ''Stanworth"  is  the  common 
grave  of  Plessian  soldiers  killed  in  the  Bat- 
tle of  Princeton  in  1777. 

The  street  turning  to;  the  left  behind 
''Westland"  is  Cleveland  Lane,  No.  25  of 
which  was  the  residence  of  President  Wood- 
row  Wilson  while  Governor  of  New  Jersey 
and  when  elected  President  of  the  United 
States.  His  residence  while  a  professor  in 
the  University  was  No.  82  Library  Place 
which  he  built.  His  residence  as  President 
of  the  University  was  at  "Prospect."  His 
present  (1919)  legal  voting  residence  is  an 
apartment  over  the  store  at  No.  10  Nassau 
Street,  which,  however,  he  has  never  occu- 
pied. 

The  second  turning  to  the  left  on  Cleve- 
land Lane  is  Library  Place  by  following 
which  Stockton  Street  at  right  angles  to  it 
is  once  more  reached.  The  Lenox  Library 
of  the  Princeton  Theological  Seminary  is 
opposite  (see  later).  Proceeding  west  along 
Stockton    Street    we   now    follow   what   is 


The    Tozvn  25 

known  as  the  "Big  Triangle"  (Stockton 
Street,  the  Quaker  Road  at  Stony  Brook, 
and  the  Trenton  turnpike  back  to  Mercer 
Street)  as  distinguished  from  the  "Lit- 
tle Triangle"  (Stockton,  Lovers'  Lane  and 
Mercer)  referred  to  in  the  campus  "Triangle 
Song"  by  Henry  van  Dyke  and  reminiscent 
of  bygone,  riotous,  undergraduate  days: 

"Well  the  old  Triangle  knew  the  music  of  our 

tread, 
How  the  peaceful  Seminole  would  tremble  in  his 

bed, 
How   the   gates   were   left  unhinged,   the   lamps 

without  a  head 
While  we  were  marching  through  Princeton." 

The  first  turn  to  the  left  on  Stockton  Street 
is  Edgehill  Street,  on  the  right  hand  of 
which  is  an  old  stone  house  known  as  The 
Barracks.  The  street  wall  is  modern,  but 
the  house  itself  is  one  of  the  oldest  in 
Princeton,  if  not  the  oldest,  having  been  a 
portion  of  the  Stockton  homestead  before 
the  erection  of  "Morven."  The  house  has 
been  carefully  enlarged  by  the  present  own- 
er, Professor  J.  Duncan  Spaeth,  of  the  Uni- 


26  Guide    to    Princeton 

versity.  It  derives  its  name,  if  a  well  found- 
ed tradition  be  accepted,  from  the  fact  that 
it  was  used  as  a  barracks  during  the  Revo- 
lution. It  is  possible,  however,  that  the 
name  antedates  that  period,  as  there  are  nu- 
merous indications  that  the  convenient  loca- 
tion of  Princeton  frequently  made  it  a  mili- 
tary post,  and  it  is  well  known  that  the  vil- 
lagers petitioned  for  the  erection  of  a  bar- 
racks during  the  French  and  Indian  War, 
when  this  house  may  have  been  so  used  and 
have  acquired  its  name.  According  to  a 
map  of  1776  it  was  then  known  as  the 
"Old  Stockton  House." 

Returning  to  Stockton  Street,  directly  op- 
posite the  end  of  Edgehill  Street  is  Allison 
House,  the  residence  of  Mr.  George  A.  Ar- 
mour, but  originally  built  by  Commodore 
Stockton  for  his  son,  John  P.  Stockton,  At- 
torney General  of  New  Jersey,  U.  S.  Sena- 
tor, and  American  Minister  to  Rome  in  1858, 
and  after  him  occupied  by  Mr.  Paul  Tu- 
lane,  a  Huguenot  resident  of  Princeton  and 
founder  and  benefactor  of  Tulane  Univer- 
sity, New  Orleans. 

A  few  steps  past  the  corner  of  Edgehill 


The    Town  27 

Street  is  the  property  from  which  it  gets  its 
name — Edgehill,  built  in  1829  as  a  board- 
ing school  for  boys  and  for  forty  years  one 
of  the  best  known  schools  in  this  part  of  the 
country.  It  then  became  and  has  since  re- 
mained a  private  residence. 

The  estate  beyond  "Edgehill"  is  Guern- 
sey Hall,  formerly  *'Woodlawn,"  the  home 
of  the  late  Judge  Richard  S.  Field  of  Prince- 
ton, but  now  the  residence  of  Professor  Al- 
lan Marquand  of  the  University. 

The  lane  dividing  "Guernsey  Hall"  from 
the  next  estate  is  Lover's  Lane,  a  probable 
corruption  of  Loverly  (or  Lubberly)  the 
name  of  a  former  owner  of  property  at 
this  point.  The  lane  forms  part  of  the  bor- 
ough western  line. 

The  large  house  and  property  beyond  "Al- 
lison House"  and  opposite  "Guernsey  Hall" 
is  Constitution  Hill,  the  residence  of  Mr. 
Junius  S.  Morgan.  The  house  is  built  on  the 
site  of  the  residence  of  Quartermaster  Rob- 
ert Stockton  of  the  Revolutionary  Army, 
an  actively  patriotic  citizen  of  Princeton. 
According  to  persistent  tradition  the  house 
took  its  name  from  the  fact  that  the  Con- 


28  Guide    to    Princeton 

stitution  of  New  Jersey  was  drafted  here 
in  the  summer  of  1776.  Here  Washington 
estabhshed  headquarters  for  the  few  hours 
he  spent  in  Princeton  when  retreating 
across  New  Jersey  in  December  of  that  year. 
On  the  opposite  side  of  the  street,  next 
to  Lover's  Lane  is  Drumthwacket,  the 
estate  of  Mr.  M.  Taylor  Pyne.  Visitors  may 
walk  through  the  grounds  but  are  desired 
not  to  approach  the  house.  The  grounds  are 
best  entered  by  the  rustic  gate  on  Lover's 
Lane,  from  which  a  path  may  be  followed 
past  the  deer  park  and  through  the  woods 
to  the  walks  leading  to  the  lakes  and  lower 
grounds.  The  house  was  built  in  1832  and 
was  the  home  of  Charles  S.  Olden,  Governor 
of  New  Jersey  during  the  Civil  War,  and 
treasurer  of  the  College.  The  property  has 
been  enlarged  and  improved  by  its  present 
owner  until  it  is  now  one  of  the  most  beau- 
tiful estates  in  New  Jersey.  The  little 
white  cottage  on  the  roadside,  known  as 
Drumthwacket  Lodge  and  now  used  as  an 
aviary,  was  built  in  1696.  From  its  front 
porch  in  December  1776  Washington  re- 
viewed his  troops  on  their  march  to  Trenton. 


The    Town  29 

On  January  3,  after  the  Battle  of  Princeton, 
he  came  again  to  the  door  asking  that  British 
officers  wounded  in  the  fight  be  taken  in  and 
cared  for,  which  was  done.  A  few  yards 
below  this  at  the  turn  of  the  hill  is  the 
Washington  Spring,  where  Washington 
is  said  to  have  refreshed  himself  after  the 
Battle  of  Princeton.  The  American  and 
British  soldiers  killed  in  the  Battle  were 
buried  where  they  fell  on  a  part  of  *'Drum- 
thwacket."  A  monument  was  erected  in 
19 1 7  on  a  nearby  wooded  knoll  to  mark  the 
spot,  and  bears  the  inscription: 

Near  Here  Lie  Buried 

The  American  and  British  Officers 

and   Soldiers 

Who  Fell  at  the  Battle  of  Princeton 

January  3d,   1777 

with  these  lines  by  Alfred  Noyes,  Visiting 
Professor  in  the  University,  written  for  the 
monument : 

"Here  Freedom  stood,  by  slaughtered  friend  and 

foe, 
And,  ere  the  wrath  paled  or  that  sunset  died, 
Looked  through  the  ages ;  then,  with  eyes  aglow 
Laid  them  to  wait  that  future  side  by  side." 


30  Guide    to    Princeton 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  road  is  the 
entrance  to  Edgerstoune,  part  of  the  large 
tract  bought  by  Richard  Stockton  of  WilHam 
Penn  in  1701,  now  the  estate  of  Mr.  A.  D. 
Russell,  overlooking  the  wooded  upper 
reaches  of  Stony  Brook  and  beyond  to  the 
distant  hills.  The  wide  grass  allee,  1800  feet 
long,  with  Mt.  Rose  in  the  background,  is 
very  unusual. 

At  the  foot  of  the  hill  the  road  crosses 
Stony  Brook  (the  Indian  name  was  Wopo- 
woc),  climbs  Bruere's  Hill  and  goes  on  to 
Lawrenceville  and  Trenton.  At  the  triple- 
arched  bridge,  which  dates  from  1792  and 
was  erected  to  take  the  place  of  the  one 
destroyed  in  the  Battle,  are  the  remains  of 
Worth's  (or  Bruere's)  Mill  dating  from 
1714,  which  ceased  operation  only  in  the 
beginning  of  the  20th  century.  The  highway 
was  originally  at  meadow  level  and  the 
massive  masonry  of  the  mill  wall  seemed 
impervious  to  time,  but  the  raising  of  the 
road  and  the  use  of  the  west  wall  of  the 
mill  as  a  retaining  wall  weakened  the  whole 
structure.  The  mill  connects  modern 
Princeton  with  the  earliest  settlers  of  the 


The    Town  31 

region,  deriving  its  name  from  Joseph 
Worth,  a  Quaker  who  came  to  Stony  Brook 
in  1696  and  bought  the  property  on  which 
the  mill  was  erected.  His  descendants  in 
the  family  held  the  mill  until  well  after  the 
middle  of  the  19th  century,  when  it  became 
the  property  of  Mr.  Joseph  H.  Bruere, 
whose  heirs  own  the  picturesque  ruin  and 
whose  name  is  attached  to  it  and  to  the  hill 
across  the  Brook.  The  road  which  turns  to 
the  left  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  and  follows 
the  bank  of  the  winding  stream  is  the  old 
Quaker  Road,  in  a  few  hundred  yards 
crossing  the  Trenton  turnpike  (laid  out  in 
1807)  and  leading  past  the  little  Quaker 
Meeting  House.  The  old  bridge  at  the 
turnpike  is  particularly  picturesque. 

The  Meeting  House  dates  from  1726 
but  was  rebuilt  in  1760.  Prior  to  1757  it 
was  the  only  house  of  worship  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Princeton  and  was  attended  by 
all  the  early  Princeton  families.  A  Quaker 
schoolhouse  antedating  1781  was  near  by, 
with  a  house  for  the  schoolmaster.  Both 
were  removed  some  years  ago.  The  Meet- 
ing House  is  a  two  story  building  with  fire- 


32  Guide    to    Princeton 

places  at  each  end.  Its  enclosed  burial 
ground  is  the  oldest  in  the  vicinity.  The  first 
settlers  of  Princeton  and  their  descendants 
for  many  generations  were  buried  here,  but 
in  Quaker  fashion  without  stones  to  mark 
the  graves.  Richard  Stockton,  Signer  of 
the  Declaration,  was  buried  here  (see  tab- 
let to  his  memory  erected  in  191 3  by  the 
New  Jersey  Society  of  the  Sons  of  the 
American  Revolution)  and  also  Governor 
Charles  S.  Olden. 

A  quieter  spot  can  hardly  be  imagined 
than  this,  where  the  ''forefathers  of  the 
hamlet"  lie ;  but  it  was  only  a  few  steps 
north  of  the  Meeting  House,  shortly  after 
sunrise  on  January  3,  1777,  that  the  Battle 
of  Princeton  began.  After  retreating 
through  New  Jersey,  past  Princeton  down 
the  postroad  to  Trenton  which  the  visitor 
has  just  followed  as  far  as  Stony  Brook, 
Washington  had  surprised  the  Hessians  at 
Trenton  on  Christmas  Night  in  1776.  Lord 
Cornwallis  with  large  reinforcements  had 
reached  Trenton  late  on  January  2,  1777, 
leaving  a  British  brigade  in  Princeton  to  join 
him  the  next  morning,  in  his  plan  of  catch- 


The    Town  33 

ing  Washington  in  an  untenable  position. 
The  latter  escaped  the  predicament  by  si- 
lently slipping  away  during  the  night  of  the 
2nd    along    an    unguarded    and    circuitous 
route  which  led  at  length  to  the  Quaker 
Road  at  Stony  Brook  and  thence  to  the  rear 
(or    south)    of    the   village   of    Princeton, 
where  he  hoped  to  surprise  the  British  gar- 
rison, and  hurrying  on,  possibly  to  seize  the 
important  military  post  at  New  Brunswick. 
The   line   of   march   from   Trenton   to   the 
Princeton  battle  ground  is  marked  at  half 
mile    intervals    by    stone    posts    on    which 
bronze   tablets   have  been   placed    by    the 
Sons  of  the  Revolution.    The  details  of  the 
engagement  may  be  followed  in  General  W. 
S.  Stryker's  Battles  of  Trenton  and  Prince- 
ton, and  in  General  A.  A.  Woodhull's  Bat- 
tle   of    Princeton — a    Preliminary    Study. 
Briefly,  on  reaching  Stony  Brook,  part  of  the 
American    force    (under   General   Mercer) 
near  the  Quaker  Meeting  House  was  dis- 
covered from  the  top  of  the  hill  (Bruere's) 
across  the  brook,  by  the  British  commander, 
Colonel  Mawhood,  on  his  way  with  the  van- 
guard of  his  forces  to  join  Cornwallis  at 


34  Guide    to    Princeton 

Trenton.  The  ensuing  engagement,  in 
which  the  rest  of  the  British  troops  coming 
down  the  postroad  and  the  main  body  of 
the  American  army  under  Washington  all 
took  part,  and  in  which  Washington  dis- 
played not  only  his  personal  courage  but 
also  his  remarkable  good  fortune  in  escap- 
ing injury,  resulted  in  the  rout  of  part  of 
the  British  forces  and  the  retreat  of  the  rest 
across  country  along  the  general  direction 
of  the  present  turnpike  leading  into  Mercer 
Street,  Princeton,  and  then  not  existing, 
back  to  the  college  campus  and  their  post 
in  Nassau  Hall  where  they  at  length  sur- 
rendered. After  destroying  such  military 
stores  as  he  could  not  carry  off,  Washington 
hurried  on  with  his  prisoners  toward  King- 
ston where,  instead  of  going  to  New  Bruns- 
wick as  Cornwallis  expected  and  he  himself 
had  probably  intended,  he  turned  off  to 
Morristown.  On  finding  his  quarry  gone 
from  Trenton  and  hearing  the  guns  at 
Princeton,  Lord  Cornwallis  had  hurried  back 
to  save  New  Brunswick  and  was  only  an 
hour  or  two  behind  in  pursuit  of  Washing- 
ton.    Not  halting  at  Princeton  he  pressed 


The    Town  35 

on  to  Kingston,  and  as  soon  as  the  bridge 
there  destroyed  by  Washington — the  pres- 
ent bridge — had  been  repaired,  continued  on 
to  New  Brunswick.  The  American  loss  in 
battle  was  30  enlisted  men  killed  and  30 
wounded,  and  8  officers  killed.  The  British 
left  100  on  the  field  and  lost  300  prisoners, 
of  whom  14  were  officers. 

Quoting  General  Woodhull :  "Princeton 
was  not  a  great  battle  from  the  point  of 
numbers  engaged  or  of  casualties  suffered. 
But  it  was  a  great  battle  when  its  conse- 
quences are  considered ;  when  the  influence 
of  that  victory  upon  the  military  history  of 
the  Revolution  is  weighed ;  and  especially 
when  one  reflects  upon  the  inevitable  politi- 
cal result  that  would  have  followed  a  defeat 
upon  that  field." 

''The  field  of  Princeton  remains  practi- 
cally as  it  lay  under  the  tread  of  war.  The 
turnpike,  now  better  known  as  the  Mercer 
Street  extension,  has  made  a  comparatively 
deep  cutting  diagonally  through  the  first  line 
of  battle.  The  orchard  and  remnants  of 
its  surrounding  hedge,  standing  within  rea- 
sonable memory,  have  disappeared.  William 
Clarke's  simple  wooden  house,  which  was 
crowded  with  wounded  after  the  combats, 
has  been  replaced  by  a  greater  one  of  stone 


36  Guide    to    Princeton 

[Mercer  Manor]  on  nearly  the  same  spot. 
A  forest  that  appears  to  have  stood  on 
Thomas  Clarke's  farm,  south  of  the  road, 
and  perhaps  have  encroached  to  the  east  on 
ground  partly  cleared  before  the  Revolution, 
is  represented  by  one  or  two  straggling 
oaks.  Thomas  Clarke's  house,  newly  built 
shortly  before  the  war,  consecrated  by  the 
sacrifice  of  Mercer  dying  within  its  doors, 
is  substantially  unchanged  excepting  that 
what  was  the  rear  has  now  been  made  the 
front.  With  these  trifling  differences  the 
visitor  of  to-day  sees  the  terrain  precisely 
as  it  was  when  Mercer  fell,  when  Haslet 
and  Neil  and  Fleming,  Shippen,  Yeates, 
Morris  and  Read  were  killed  or  mortally 
wounded;  when  defeat  drew  the  patriot 
army  backward  to  the  very  brink  of  ruin 
and  Washington's  invincible  courage  and 
superb  self-control  neutralized  the  impend- 
ing catastrophe,  turned  disaster  into  tri- 
umph, and  forever  closed  the  way  to  mili- 
tary intrusion." 

Going  back  now  to  the  turnpike  crossed 
by  the  Quaker  Road,  turn  to  the  right  to- 
wards Princeton.  The  turnpike  was  laid  out 
in.  1807  and  runs  through  the  battlefield.  It 
follows  in  general  the  direction  of  an  old 
backroad   from  Princeton  to  the  Meeting 


The    Totmt  37 

House,  used  in  early  days  by  residents  of 
Princeton  as  a  short  cut  to  their  place  of 
worship.  Mercer  Heights  (residence  of 
Mr.  H.  E.  Hale)  on  the  immediate  right 
was  formerly  the  Thomas  Clarke  house  to« 
which,  after  the  battle,  General  Mercer  was 
carried  severely  wounded,  and  where  on 
January  12,  1777,  he  died.  Visitors  may 
see  Mercer's  room  (bloodstains  are  still 
shown)  as  well  as  several  relics  of  the  en- 
gagement picked  up  from  time  to  time  in  the 
field.  A  block  of  granite,  with  a  tablet  to 
Mercer's  memory,  stands  in  front  of  the 
house,  erected  by  a  Princeton  volunteer  fire 
organization  named  after  him. 

A  few  yards  further  on,  just  before 
Mercer  Manor  (estate  of  Mr.  H.  B.  Ows- 
ley) is  reached  a  pyramid  of  shot  by  the 
roadside  is  intended  to  mark  the  place 
where  Mercer  fell  but  the  actual  spot  was 
considerably  further  down  the  road,  and 
nearer  the  Hale  house. 

The  land  on  the  left  of  the  road  is  part 
of  "Drumthwacket."  Nearly  opposite  the 
spot  now  reached  is  the  monument  to  Brit- 
ish  and   American   soldiers,   already   men- 


38  Guide    to    Princeton 

tioned.  The  turnpike  now  passes  the  end  of 
Lover's  Lane  on  the  left.  On  the  right  this 
becomes  Olden  Lane  leading  past  Maple 
Hill  Farm,  the  residence  of  Mr.  Walter 
.,C.  Olden  and  part  of  the  original  William 
Olden  tract,  bought  in  1696  and  embrac- 
ing the  land  from  Stony  Brook  to  the  post- 
road.  At  the  corner  of  the  turnpike  and 
Olden  Lane  is  Peep-o'-Day,  home  of  the 
late  Lawrence  Hutton,  the  well  known  dra- 
matic critic  and  author,  who  died  here  in 
1904. 

The  borough  is  now  entered  and  the  turn- 
pike becomes  Mercer  Street.  On  the  left 
are  the  woods  at  the  rear  of  ''Guernsey 
Hall"  (entrance  marked  by  the  columns  and 
architrave  of  the  original  Hall  of  the  Clio- 
sophic  Society  on  the  College  campus,  re- 
moved to  this  site  when  the  present  marble 
hall  of  the  Society  was  erected  in  1893.) 
The  depression  in  the  road  is  the  end  of  the 
ravine  across  which  the  last  phase  of  the 
Battle  of  Princeton  was  fought.  A  British 
regiment  left  in  Nassau  Hall  formed  on 
the  slope  of  the  ravine  and  endeavored  to 
check  the  oncoming  Americans,  but   were 


The    Town  39 

driven  back  to  Nassau  Hall  over  land  which 
now  forms  the  University  Golf  Links,  the 
grounds  of  the  Princeton  Theological  Sem- 
inary, and  the  northwestern  part  of  the  Uni- 
versity campus. 

A  glimpse  of  the  Graduate  College,  with 
the  Cleveland  Tower  and  the  Procter  Me- 
morial Hall,  is  caught  across  the  fields  to  the 
right. 

Continuing  up  Mercer  Street,  the  main 
campus  of  the  Princeton  Theological  Semi- 
nary is  reached  on  the  right. 

The  Princeton  Theological  Seminary 
is  a  separate  institution  from  the  University, 
having  no  corporate  relation  whatever  with 
the  University.  It  is  the  oldest  and  also  the 
largest  Presbyterian  seminary  in  the  coun- 
try. An  agreement  was  reached  in  181 1 
by  a  joint  committee  representing  the  col- 
lege and  the  General  Assembly  which  led 
to  the  location  of  the  Seminary  at  Prince- 
ton. In  1812  the  first  professor  was  elected 
(the  Rev.  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander)  and  in 
1813  the  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Miller  was  added. 
Lectures  and  recitations  were  held  in  the 
professors'  houses.    In  1815  the  cornerstone 


40  Guide    to    Princeton 

of  Alexander  Hall  (or  Old  Seminary), 
the  dormitory  facing  Mercer  Street,  was  laid 
and  in  1817  the  building  was  occupied.  It 
has  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  build- 
ing erected  by  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
the  United  States  for  seminary  purposes. 
Originally  containing  lecture  room,  refec- 
tory, oratory,  library,  and  student  apart- 
ments, it  is  now  used  solely  as  a  dormitory. 

North  of  Alexander  Hall  is  Miller 
Chapel,  built  in  1833,  named  after  Dr. 
Samuel  Miller,  and  containing  several  not- 
able memorials  to  early  professors. 

The  Gymnasium  was  erected  in  1847  as 
a  refectory. 

Hodge  Hall,  a  dormitory  in  honor  of 
Dr.  Charles  Hodge,  was  erected  in  1893 
from  a  bequest  of  Mrs.  Robert  L.  Stuart. 

Brown  Hall  is  a  third  dormitory,  its  cor- 
ner stone  being  laid  in  1864  by  the  Mod- 
erator of  the  General  Assembly.  The  build- 
ing was  a  gift  of  Mrs.  Isabella  Brown  of 
Baltimore. 

•  Stuart  Hall,  named  in  honor  of  Messrs. 
Robert  L.  and  Alexander  Stuart  of  New 
York,    contains    the    seminary   lecture   and 


The    Toivn  41 

class  rooms,  besides  two  large  auditoriums. 
It  was  erected  in  1876. 

The  Reference  and  Lenox  Libraries, 
both  gifts  of  the  Mr.  James  Lenox  of  New 
York,  were  erected  in  1843  and  1879  re- 
spectively. The  two  buildings  occupy  the 
lot  between  Mercer  Street  and  Stockton 
Street.  The  main  collections  are  located  in 
the  Lenox  Library,  the  other  building  be- 
ing used  as  its  name  indicates.  The  main 
library  is  open  seven  hours  in  the  day  and 
three  hours  at  night,  while  the  reference  li- 
brary is  open  every  week  day,  eight  hours  in 
the  daytime  and  three  hours  at  night  except 
Saturday  night.  The  combined  libraries 
contain  over  106,000  volumes  and  35,000 
pamphlets,  besides  other  collections. 

In  addition  to  the  buildings  named,  there 
are  eight  houses  on  the  Seminary  campus, 
belonging  to  the  Seminary  and  used  as  pro- 
fessors' residences.  The  brick  house  north 
of  Miller  Chapel  was  occupied  first  by  Dr. 
Archibald  Alexander  and  subsequently  by 
Dr.  Charles  Hodge.  The  corresponding 
house  at  the  other  end  of  Alexander  Hall 
was   occupied   by   Dr.    Samuel    Miller,   on 


42  Guide    to    Princeton 

leaving  his  private  residence,  now  the  Nas- 
sau Club. 

Opposite  Trinity  Church,  the  street  to 
the  right,  now  Alexander  Street,  was  for- 
merly called  Canal  Street  and  was  one  of 
the  principal  thoroughfares  of  Princeton, 
being  the  direct  road  to  the  canal  (opened 
1834)  and  to  the  railroad  station,  when  the 
main  line  of  the  railroad  (opened  1839) 
was  on  the  canal  bank.  In  1867  the  rail- 
road was  straightened,  and  at  Princeton 
Junction  a  branch  line  three  miles  long  con- 
nected it  with  Princeton. 

The  stone  building  on  the  left,  opposite 
the  head  of  Alexander  Street,  on  the  land  of 
Trinity  Church,  was  built  in  1847  for  the 
Law  School  of  the  college.  On  the  discon- 
tinuance of  the  school  the  building  became 
the  office  of  the  railroad  company  (owners 
of  the  line  on  the  canal)  and  in  1871  after 
the  lease  to  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  it 
passed  into  private  owenrship  and  has  since 
been  known  as  Ivy  Hall.  It  how  belongs 
to  Trinity  Church. 

A  little  further  east  on  the  right  hand  side 
of    Mercer    Street,    the    house    with    high 


The    Tozvn  43 

porch  columns  is  historic  although  not  con- 
nected with  Princeton.  It  was  the  Sheldon 
home  at  Northampton,  Mass.,  and  was 
brought  to  Princeton  piece  by  piece  in  1868 
by  the  Rev.  Dr.  George  Sheldon. 

Next  is  the  Nassau  Club.  On  this  site 
Jonathan  Dickinson  Sergeant,  a  Princeton 
lawyer  and  patriot,  had  built  a  handsome 
residence  which  was  burned  to  the  ground 
by  the  Hessians  in  1776  during  the  absence 
of  Mr.  Sergeant  in  Congress.  The  property 
came  into  possession  of  Mr.  Sergeant's 
son-in-law,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Miller  of 
the  Theological  Seminary,  who  erected 
(about  1813-14)  the  present  building  which 
was  enlarged  by  the  Club  in  191 1.  The 
walls  are  of  stone  and  more  than  a  foot 
thick;  the  old  fireplaces,  panelled  mantel- 
pieces and  other  woodwork  are  still  in 
place ;  so  also  is  the  Dutch  oven  under  the 
rear  porch.  Before  Mercer  Street  was 
opened  in  1807  the  gardens  and  orchards  of 
this  property  extended  north  to  Stockton 
Street  (towards  which  it  will  be  noticed  the 
house  faces),  south  to  Dickinson  Street, 
east  to  what  is  now  University  Place,  and 


44  Guide    to    Princeton 

west  to  Alexander  Street.  On  this  property 
General  Winfield  Scott  encamped  with  his 
troops  in  1814  on  their  way  to  the  front. 

The  union  of  Stockton  and  Mercer  Streets 
has  now  been  reached  again  and  the  tour 
of  the  "Triangle"  completed.  At  a  point 
between  the  little  park  and  the  corner  of 
Bayard  Lane,  von  Donop,  the  Hessian  com- 
mander at  Princeton  in  December  1776, 
had  set  up  earthworks  as  a  defence  from 
possible  attack  on  the  post  road.  A  Brit- 
ish cannon  mounted  on  one  of  these  earth- 
works was  fired,  (according  to  one  tradition, 
by  Mary  Hays,  the  "Mollie  Pitcher"  of 
Monmouth),  at  the  British  columns  under 
Cornwallis  approaching  from  Trenton  and 
Stony  Brook  in  pursuit  of  Washington  after 
the  Battle  of  Princeton.  This  temporarily 
checked  the  advance,  necessitating  recon- 
naissance on  the  part  of  the  British  only  to 
discover  that  Washington  had  no  intention 
of  defending  Princeton,  but  was  hastening 
away  toward  Kingston.  In  spite  of  discre- 
pancy in  the  records  there  is  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  the  Big  Cannon  on  the  University 
campus  was  the  gun  here  mentioned. 


The    Toiwi  45 

Continuing  along  Nassau  Street  to  With- 
erspoon  Street,  the  large  half-timbered 
building  on  the  left  at  Baker  Street  is 
Upper  Pyne,  a  University  dormitory.  The 
elaborate  carving  is  interesting.  The  text 
"Nisi  Dominus  Frustra"  (Unless  the  Lord 
build  the  house  they  labor  in  vain)  is  carved 
on  the  main  first  floor  beam,  and  on  the  face 
of  the  sundial  is  the  motto :  "Vulnerant 
Omnes  :  Ultima  Necat"  (Each  hour  injures ; 
the  last  one  slays).  On  the  corner  opposite 
the  First  National  Bank  is  Lower  Pyne,  an- 
other University  dormitory  of  similar  style. 
Turning  down  Witherspoon  Street  just  be- 
fore reaching  the  Cemetery  the  Wiggins 
House  is  passed  on  the  right.  This  was 
built  by  Dr.  Thomas  Wiggins,  an  i8th  cen- 
tury Princeton  physician  and  treasurer  of 
the  college,  on  what  was  then  his  farm  of 
some  twenty  acres.  Dr.  Wiggins  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  local  Committee  of  Correspon- 
dence in  1775  and  as  such  endorsed  the  dis- 
patch carried  by  a  rider  through  Princeton 
before  dawn  on  April  23,  bringing  to  the 
Continental  Congress  at  Philadelphia  the 
news  of  Lexington  and  Concord.  The  "Wig- 


46  Guide    to    Princeton 

gins  House"  was  for  some  time  the  parson- 
age of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church. 

The  Princeton  Cemetery  has  been  ex- 
travagantly called  the  ''Westminster  of 
America."  It  contains,  however,  (in  the 
Presidents'  Lot)  the  graves  of  all  the  de- 
ceased presidents  of  Princeton  University, 
except  Presidents  Dickinson  and  Finley,  and 
including  Jonathan  Edwards,  John  Wither- 
spoon  and  James  McCosh.  Elsewhere  are 
the  graves  of  an  ex-President  of  the  United 
States  (Cleveland),  and  a  Vice-President 
of  the  United  States  (Burr),  Justices  of  the 
Supreme  Court  and  of  New  Jersey,  mem- 
bers of  the  Colonial  Assembly  and  Council, 
members  of  the  Continental  Congress  and  of 
the  New  Jersey  Provincial  Congress,  sev- 
eral officers  of  the  Revolutionary  Army  and 
of  the  United  States  Army  and  Navy,  a 
Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
(Witherspoon),  a  Governor  of  New  Jersey, 
members  of  the  United  States  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives,  and  several  of 
the  most  famous  theologians  in  American 
Presbyterian  history. 

Following   Witherspoon    Street   about   a 


The    Town  47 

mile  from  Princeton  and  taking  the  left 
fork  of  the  road  (the  Blawenburg  road)  we 
reach  Tusculum,  the  country  residence  of 
President  Witherspoon,  built  in  1773  (see 
date  carved  in  the  stone  under  the  eaves). 
The  house  was  the  headquarters  of  the  of- 
ficers of  the  40th  British  regiment  in  De- 
cember 1776.  The  live-stock  was  seized, 
but  the  house  and  contents  were  not  much 
damaged.  Washington  was  not  an  infre- 
quent visitor  here  and  the  Dutch  Minister, 
Van  Berckel,  made  it  his  headquarters  in 
1783,  when  he  came  to  Princeton  to  receive 
audience  from  Congress.  The  frame  addi- 
tion to  the  house  is  modern  but  the  structure 
itself  has  been  admirably  preserved  and  is 
an  excellent  example  of  late  colonial  con- 
struction. Tradition  claims  that  the  ma- 
hogany doors  were  imported  from  England. 
The  interior  of  the  house  is  interesting. 
Dr.  Witherspoon's  study  was  a  small  room 
upstairs.  'Tusculum"  is  now  the  residence 
of  Dr.  M.  W.  Pardoe  of  Princeton. 

Returning  to  the  corner  of  Witherspoon 
and  Nassau  Streets  and  following  the  latter 
east,  on  the  northwest   corner  of  Nassau 


48  Guide    to   Princeton 

Street  and  Vandeventer  Avenue  is  the 
Bainbridge  House  (now  the  Public  Li- 
brary). Built  in  the  i8th  century  it  belonged 
for  over  a  hundred  years  to  a  branch  of  the 
Stockton  family.  It  acquired  its  present 
name  as  the  birthplace  of  Commodore  Wil- 
liam Bainbridge  of  the  United  States  Navy, 
who  was  born  in  1774,  the  son  of  Dr.  Ab- 
salom Bainbridge,  a  Princeton  physician, 
and  who  became  the  celebrated  commander 
of  the  "Constitution"  ("Old  Ironsides"). 

The  Beatty  House  (No.  19  Vandeventer 
Avenue),  the  residence  of  Mr.  Oliver  H. 
Hubbard,  is  historic.  As  the  residence  of 
Colonel  Erkuries  Beatty,  of  the  Revolution- 
ary Army,  it  stood  formerly  on  the  south 
side  of  Nassau  Street  opposite  the  Bain- 
bridge House  from  which  it  was  removed 
about  1875.  Colonel  Beatty  was  one  of 
Lafayette's  aides  at  Yorktown,  and  it  is 
said  that  Lafayette  spent  the  night  in  this 
house  in  July  1825  on  his  second  visit  to 
Princeton,  during  his  triumphal  tour  of 
the  country.  It  was  occupied  in  the  middle 
of  the  19th  century  by  a  girls'  school  of 
more  than  local  reputation.    On  the  corner 


The    Town  49 

of  Vandeventer  Avenue  opposite  the  Bain- 
bridge  House  is  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  erected  in  1907  in  place  of  the 
edifice  built  in  1847. 

Across  Nassau  Street  in  front  of  the 
Chemical  Laboratory  is  one  of  the  stone 
monuments  erected  to  identify  the  route 
taken  by  Washington  to  Morristown  after 
the  Battle  of  Princeton. 

A  block  further  east  is  St.  Paul's  Cath- 
olic Church,  of  which  the  organization 
dates  from  1850,  the  church  and  parish 
buildings  being,  however,  considerable  later. 

At  the  corner  of  Harrison  Street  (one  of 
the  oldest  streets  in  Princeton,  appearing 
on  all  the  early  maps  of  the  village,  and 
leading  directly  to  Scudder's  or  the  Aque- 
duct Mills)  was  the  suburb  Queenston, 
locally  known  as  "Jug  Town,"  on  account  of 
a  prosperous  pottery  manufactory  formerly 
located  there,  but  now  become  a  part  of  the 
borough  of  Princeton.  The  locality  had  a 
period  of  great  activity,  with  a  hotel  (cor- 
ner of  Nassau  and  Harrison  Streets),  a 
chapel  (on  Harrison  Street),  a  school,  etc., 
of  its  own.     The  long  low  rambling  Red 


50  Guide  to  Princeton 

House  on  the  left  of  Nassau  Street  just 
before  reaching  Queenston,  on  Evelyn  Place, 
was  the  site  of  Evelyn  College  for  Wo- 
men, which  had  a  brief  career  in  the  early 
nineties.  The  property  has  now  been  cut 
up  into  building  lots. 

The  large  house  with  the  white  porch- 
columns,  on  the  south  side  of  the  street  just 
after  passing  Queenston,  was  the  residence 
of  the  late  President  McCosh,  built  by  him 
on  Prospect  Avenue,  and  moved  to  the  pres- 
ent site  after  his  death. 

On  the  north  side  of  the  street,  just  be- 
yond the  borough  line  (Snowden  Lane)  is 
the  well  known  Princeton  Preparatory 
School  for  boys,  established  in  1873. 

Continuing  along  the  road  to  Kingston,  on 
the  south  side  is  a  fine  old  pre-revolution- 
ary  house.  Castle  Howard,  one  of  the  old- 
est estates  in  Princeton,  having  originally 
been  the  plantation  of  a  Dr.  Greenland  be- 
fore William  Penn  conveyed  land  to 
Stockton  and  others  in  1696  at  the  other  end 
of  the  village.  The  present  name  dates 
from  an  eighteenth  century  owner.  Captain 
Howard,  of  the  British  Army,  but  who  at  the 


The    Town  51 

time  of  his  death  in  1776  was  a  strong  sym- 
pathizer with  the  colonists.  It  is  said  that 
he  painted  over  his  mantel  the  warning 
"No  Tory  talk  here,"  which  remained  visi- 
ble many  years  later.  ''Castle  Howard"  is 
now  the  residence  of  Mr.  T.  A.  C.  Baker. 
The  scene  of  one  of  Dr.  van  Dyke's  stories 
is  laid  here. 

At  Kingston  the  road  to  the  left  leads  to 
Rocky  Hill  where  should  be  visited  Rock- 
ingham, occupied  by  General  Washington 
in  the  summer  of  1783  as  his  headquarters 
during  the  session  of  Congress  at  Princeton. 
The  property  is  now  owned  and  maintained 
by  The  Washington  Headquarters  Associa- 
tion of  Rocky  Hill  and  is  full  of  interesting 
relics  chiefly  relating  to  Washington.  It  is 
open  to  the  public  on  payment  of  a  fee  of  25 
cents.  In  the  ''Blue  Room"  at  "Rocking- 
ham," Washington  wrote  in  October  1783 
his  "Farewell  Orders"  to  the  American 
Army.  The  property  was  rented  for  his 
occupancy  from  the  widow  of  Judge  John 
Berrien  of  Princeton,  a  trustee  of  the  col- 
lege. It  passed  from  her  into  various  hands 
until  it  finally  became  the  tenement  of  Ital- 


52  Guide  to  Princeton 

ian  quarrymen.  It  was  then  recovered 
through  the  patriotic  energy  of  Miss  Kate 
E.  McFarlane  of  Rocky  Hill  and  the  gen- 
erosity of  Mrs.  Josephine  Thomson  Swann 
of  Princeton,  the  donor  of  Thomson  Hall, 
already  noticed.  In  spite  of  the  general  de- 
l^pidation  of  the  building  during  its  use 
as  a  tenement,  the  Italian  occupants  kept 
the  Blue  Room  closed  and  in  perfect  con- 
dition, treating  it  as  a  sanctuary  in  memory 
of  its  historic  association  with  Washington. 
The  house  was  built  in  1734  and  in  1783  the 
farm  consisted  of  over  3CX)  acres. 

During  Washington's  occupancy,  "Rock- 
ingham' 'became  a  rendezvous  for  visitors. 
Among  these,  Thomas  Paine  was  a  specially 
invited  guest.  On  the  Millstone  River  at 
the  foot  of  Rocky  Hill,  Paine  and  Washing- 
ton tested  the  local  tradition  that  the  river 
could  be  set  on  fire,  by  stirring  up  the  mud 
of  the  bottom  and  lighting  the  marsh  gas 
thus  released.  One  of  the  most  important 
state  dinners  given  by  Washington  while  at 
"Rockingham"  was^  in  honor  of  the  Dutch 
Minister  Van  Berckel  and  the  members  of 
Congress.  -   During  Washington's  stay,  his 


The    Town  53 

famous  bodyguard  encamped  on  the  lawn 
in  front  of  the  house. 

The  Aqueduct  Mills  on  the  Millstone 
(via  Harrison  Street  and  across  Lake  Car- 
negie) were  located  at  the  union  of  Stony 
Brook  and  the  Millstone.  In  the  Revolution 
it  was  known  as  Scudder's  Mills,  being 
owned  by  Colonel  Nathaniel  Scudder  of  the 
American  Army.  British  troops  were  quar- 
tered at  the  mills  during  the  occupation  of 
Princeton  by  the  British  in  1776.  The  prop- 
erty was  destroyed  in  December  of  that 
year,  but  at  once  rebuilt. 

On  the  south  side  of  Lake  Carnegie  is 
Saint  Joseph's  College,  the  preparatory  de- 
partment of  Saint  Vincent's  Seminary  at 
Germantown.  These  two  institutions  edu- 
cate young  men  for  the  Roman  Catholic 
priesthood  in  the  religious  community  called 
Congregation  of  the  Mission,  founded  by 
Saint  Vincent  de  Paul  in  161 7  in  Paris,  and 
introduced  into  the  United  States  in  181 7. 

On  this  side  of  the  Lake  is  also  the  De- 
partment of  Animal  Pathology  of  the 
Rockefeller  Institute  for  Medical  Re- 
search.    Here,  in  addition  to  the  research 


54  Guide    to    Princeton 

work  of  this  Department  carried  on  in  the 
laboratory  building,  serum  horses  and  other 
animals  of  the  Institute  are  cared  for  in  spe- 
cially designed  buildings,  and  may  be  kept 
isolated  for  the  study  of  infectious  diseases, 
the  prevention  of  which  constitutes  the  pur- 
pose of  the  Foundation. 

In  an  additional  building,  erected  in  191 7, 
the  production  of  curative  sera  was  carried 
on  to  meet  the  urgent  requirements  of  the 
war. 

The  village  of  Lawrenceville,  five  miles 
from  Princeton  on  the  road  to  Trenton 
(either  of  the  trolley  lines  or  by  Stockton 
Street  and  its  continuation)  was  settled  at 
about  the  same  time  as  Princeton,  its  orig- 
inal name  being  Maidenhead.  Being  on  the 
postroad  to  Trenton  and  Philadelphia  its 
name  appears  frequently  in  the  records. 

It  is  the  seat  of  Lawrenceville  School 
whose  history  runs  back  to  18 10.  The 
School  is  planned  on  the  ''house  system"  by 
which  the  boys  live  in  masters'  houses  of 
Which  there  are  twelve  or  more.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  Fifth  or  highest  form  live  in  a 
dormitory  known  as  "Upper  House"  and  in 


The  Town  55 

preparation  for  their  university  life  have  at 
least  one  year  of  wider  personal  liberty 
and  responsibility  than  is  possible  in  the 
masters'  houses.  To  see  the  grounds  and 
admirably  complete  equipment  of  the  school, 
visitors  should  ask  for  guides  at  the  Head- 
master's House. 


^6  Guide    to    Princeton 


Walks 

1.  Stockton  Street,  to  Elm  Street,  to  the 
Rosedale  Road,  to  the  two  bridges,  along 
right  bank  of  Stony  Brook  downstream  to 
site  of  Bruere's  mill  at  the  bridge,  back  by 
the  old  postroad.     About  4  miles. 

2.  Elm  Road  on  east  side  of  Brokaw 
Field  through  Potter's  Woods  to  Lake 
Carnegie,  along  the  shore  of  the  Lake  to 
Washington  Road  and  thence  to  McCosh 
Walk  and  the  campus.    About  2  miles. 

3.  Bayard  Lane  to  Pretty  Brook  road 
and  back  by  Province  Line  Road.  Four 
miles. 

4.  Bayard  Lane  or  Elm  Street  to  Cedar 
Grove  and  back  by  Blawenburg  Road.  Five 
miles. 

5.  Nassau  Street  to  Kingston,  crossing 
head  of  lake  Carnegie,  following  road  along 
the  lakeside  to  Washington  Road  extension 
back  to  Princeton.     Six  miles. 


TJie  University  57 


The  University 

Founded  as  the  College  of  New  Jersey 
(charter  granted  October  22,  1746,  by  Acting 
Governor  John  Hamilton),  the  college  was 
opened  at  Elizabeth,  N.  J.,  in  the  spring 
of  1747.  It  owes  its  origin  to  the  energy 
and  persistence  of  members  of  the  Synod  of 
New  York.  On  securing  a  charter  they  as- 
sociated with  themselves  the  leaders  of  the 
famous  Log  College  at  Neshaminy  (founded 
in  1726)  which  had  recently  been  discon- 
tinued. On  the  death  of  the  first  presi- 
dent, Jonathan  Dickinson,  the  college  was 
moved  to  Newark,  N.  J.,  where  in  Novem- 
ber 1748  the  first  Commencement  was  held. 
A  new  charter  was  granted  by  Goyernor 
Jonathan  Belcher  in  the  same  year.  Prop- 
erty was  acquired  at  Princeton  in  1753  and 
the  corner-stone  of  the  first  building,  Nas- 
sau Hall,  was  laid  in  September  1754.  The 
College  was  moved  to  Princeton  in  Novem- 


58  Guide    to    Princeton 

ber  1756.  The  title  "Princeton  University" 
was  assumed  in  October  1896  at  the  Sesqui- 
cennial  Celebration  of  the  founding.  The 
presidents  of  Princeton  have  been  (i) 
Jonathan  Dickinson,  1747- 1747,  (2)  Aaron 
Burr,  1 748- 1 757,  (3)  Jonathan  Edwards, 
1 757- 1 758,  (4)  Samuel  Davies,  1 759-1 761, 
(5)  Samuel  Finley,  1 761 -1766,  (6)  John 
Witherspoon,  1768- 1794,  (7)  Samuel  Stan- 
hope Smith,  1 795- 1 81 2,  (8)  Ashbel  Green, 
1812-1822,  (9)  James  Carnahan,  1823-1854, 
(10)  John  Maclean,  1854-1868,  (11)  James 
McCosh,  1868-1888,  (12)  Francis  Landey 
Patton,  1888-1902,  (13)  Woodrow  Wilson, 
1902-1910,  (14)  John  Grier  Hibben,  1912 
to  date. 

The  seal  of  the  University  is  a  shield 
resting  upon  a  circle;  in  the  upper  part  of 
the  shield  an  open  Bible  with  Latin  char- 
acters signifying  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments; in  the  lower  part,  a  chevron  denot- 
ing the  rafters  of  a  building;  between  the 
sides  of  the  shield  and  circle,  the  motto 
"Dei  sub  numine  viget" ;  on  the  outside  of 
the  circle  the  words  "Sigillum  Universitatis 
Princetoniensis."  The  heraldic  description  of 


The  University  59 

the  shield  is:  Or,  a  chevron  sable;  on  a 
chief  of  the  second  an  open  book  proper 
with  the  words  Vet  Nov  Testamentum.  The 
official  colors  of  the  University  are  Orange 
and  Black.  This  seal  was  adopted  October 
22,  1896,  when  the  name  of  the  college  was 
changed  to  Princeton  University.  It  was 
taken  in  part  from  the  old  seal. 

Campus  and  Buildings 

The  campus  originally  was  a  four  and  a 
half  acre  lot  on  the  highroad,  given  by 
Nathaniel  FitzRandolph,  a  resident  of  the 
village  (see  tablet  in  Holder  Hall  arch). 
It  now  comprises  over  eight  hundred  acres 
including  land  held  in  the  interest  of  the 
University,  with  fifty-six  buildings  devoted 
to  instructional,  laboratory,  and  dormitory 
purposes,  and  over  fifty  others  used  for 
clubs,  athletics,  and  various  university  pur- 
poses. 

Nassau  Hall.  Erected  in  1754- 1756 
on  the  land  given  by  Mr.  Fitz  Randolph  and 
named  in  honor  of  William  of  Nassau, 
(Prince  of  Orange,  William  III  of  England) 
as  "champion  of  British  liberties,"  the  build- 


6o  Guide    to   Princeton 

ing  was  planned  to  contain  the  college  refec- 
tory, recitation  rooms,  chapel,  library,  and 
students'  apartments.  Excepting  the  presi- 
dent's house  (see  Dean  of  the  Faculty's 
house)  certain  out-buildings  (fire  engine 
shed,  kitchen,  steward's  house,  etc.)  it  was 
until  the  beginning  of  the  19th  century  the 
only  building  on  the  campus.  Here  all  of 
Princeton's  i8th  century  students  roomed. 
The  green  in  front  of  it  has  been  the  scene 
of  several  historic  happenings.  In  the  sum- 
mer of  1770  the  students  burned  here,  at 
the  hands  of  the  public  hangman,  the  letter 
of  the  New  York  merchants  breaking  the 
Non-Importation  Agreement.  In  January 
1774  here  took  place  the  Princeton  Tea 
Party  when  a  bonfire  was  made  of  the  en- 
tire college  supply  of  tea,  with  an  efifigy  of 
the  unpopular  Governor  Hutchinson  of 
Massachusetts  in  the  center,  a  canister  of 
tea  about  his  neck.  On  July  9,  1776,  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  was  read  here, 
salutes  fired,  and  the  building  was  illumi- 
nated. The  surrender  of  Cornwallis  at 
Yorktown  in  1781  and  the  announcement  of 
the   cessation   of   hostilities   in   April    1783 


The    University  6i 

were  duly  celebrated  on  the  front  campus ; 
and  here  an  interesting  ceremony  took 
place  in  September  1824  when  the  Marquis 
of  Lafayette  revisited  Princeton  after  forty- 
nine  years,  and  was  received  by  the  college 
and  town.  Recent  memorable  scenes  on  the 
steps  of  Nassau  Hall  have  been  the  review 
of  the  torchlight  procession  of  alumni  on 
October  22,  1896,  by  the  President  of  the 
United  States  (Cleveland)  at  the  Sesqui- 
centennial  Celebration  of  the  founding;  the 
conferring  of  honorary  degrees  on  the  Pres- 
ident of  the  United  States  (Taft)  and  the 
Chief  Justice  (White)  at  the  inauguration 
of  President  Hibben  in  1912;  and  the  con- 
ferring of  honorary  degrees  at  Commence- 
ment in  191 7  on  the  Secretary  of  State 
(Lansing)  and  the  Ambassadors  of  the 
Allies. 

The  front  campus  is  the  scene  of  "senior 
singing"  on  spring  evenings  (from  about 
7.30  to  8.30)  the  seniors  occupying  the  steps 
and  the  audience  grouping  in  a  semicircle 
under  the  trees.  The  tablets  set  in  the  walls 
of  Nassau  Hall  mark  the  ivy  planted  at 
Commencement  by  graduating  classes.   The 


62  Guide    to   Princeton 

earliest  stone  is  that  of  the  Class  of  1870. 
The  ivy  thus  grown  had  virtually  covered 
the  entire  face  of  the  building  but  was  win- 
ter-killed in  1917-1918.  The  glacial  boulder 
fragment  lying  beside  the  steps  is  from  Neu- 
chatel,  Switzerland,  the  birthplace  of  Pro- 
fessor Arnold  Guyot  of  Princeton,  the  re- 
maining portion  of  the  boulder  being  used 
in  the  tablet  to  his  memory  in  Marquand 
Chapel. 

The  bronze  tigers  on  the  steps,  modelled 
by  A.  P.  Proctor,  are  the  gift  of  the  Class 
of  1879.  The  tablet  set  in  the  front  of  the 
steps  records  a  significant  passage  in  the 
speech  of  the  Chief  Justice  at  the  inaugura- 
tion of  President  Hibben.  On  one  side  of 
the  doorway  is  a  bronze  tablet  setting  forth 
the  successive  stages  in  the  corporate  devel- 
opment of  the  University;  on  the  other,  a 
bronze  tablet  erected  by  the  New  Jersey 
Chapter  of  the  Sons  of  the  Revolution  epi- 
tomizing the  history  of  Nassau  Hall.  In  the 
vestibule  is  a  bronze  tablet  erected  by  the 
New  Jersey  Chapter  of  the  Society  of  the 
Colonial  Dames  of  America  in  memory  of 
the  first  presidents  and  charter  trustees  of 


The    University  63 

the  college.  Opposite  are  a  heroic  bronze 
bas-relief  of  Elias  Boudinot  (by  W.  O. 
Partridge)  trustee  of  Princeton,  and  Pres- 
ident of  the  Continental  Congress  at  the  time 
of  its  session  in  this  building,  and  one  of 
John  Witherspoon,  Signer  of  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  and  President  of 
Princeton  University  during  the  Revolution- 
ary period.  The  central  entrance  hall  or 
atrium  is  to  be  remodelled  and  dedicated  as 
a  Memorial  Hall  to  Princetonians  who  gave 
up  their  lives  in  the  War,  and  will  contain 
the  memorial  tablets  in  their  honor.  The 
record  of  Princeton  men  in  service  is  at 
present  temporarily  posted  on  the  walls. 

Military  occupation  during  the  Revolu- 
tion completely  ruined  the  interior  of  Nas- 
sau Hall  and  restorations  were  not  com- 
pleted for  several  years  after  the  war.  The 
interior  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1802  and 
again  in  1855,  but  in  each  case  the  walls 
remained.  Until  the  restoration  after  the 
fire  of  1855  there  were  three  entrances,  one 
on  each  side  of  the  central  entrance  with 
corresponding  exits  in  the  rear.  The  tur- 
rets at  the  ends  of  the  building  containing 


64  Guide    to    Princeton 

the  stone  staircases,  date  from  the  restora- 
tion of  1855,  as  does  the  high  cupola.  The 
bell  rings  the  curfew  every  night  during  the 
term  time,  a  college  rule  dating  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  occupancy  of  Nassau  Hall 
and  broken  only  during  the  existence  of 
the  Student  Army  Training  Corps  in  the 
autumn  of  19 18,  when  virtually  the  whole 
student  body  was  under  military  or  naval 
jurisdiction.  The  clock  in  the  cupola  is  the 
gift  of  the  Class  of  i860. 

Before  1855  corridors  ran  through  the  en- 
tire length  of  the  building;  the  prayer-hall 
or  chapel  was  smaller;  and  the  interior  of 
the  east  end  has  been  greatly  altered  to  pro- 
vide space  for  the  offices  of  administration ; 
but  the  interior  of  the  west  end  has  pre- 
served closely  the  original  arrangement  and 
appearance. 

During  the  Revolution  the  building  was 
occupied  as  barracks  and  hospital  by  British 
and  American  troops  in  turn.  Evacuated 
by  the  college  in  November  1776  and  held 
as  a  British  post  until  the  Battle  of  Prince- 
ton (Jan.  3,  1777),  it  was  recaptured  by 
Washington    at    the    close    of    the    Battle, 


TJie    University  65 

Alexander  Hamilton's  battery  firing  the 
shots  that  led  to  the  surrender  of  the  gar- 
rison. Abandoned  later  in  the  day  by 
Washington,  it  was  re-occupied  for  a  few 
hours  by  Cornwallis  who  was  succeeded  by 
American  troops,  the  latter  remaining  until 
almost  the  end  of  the  war. 

The  first  State  legislature  of  New  Jersey 
met  in  Nassau  Hall  in  1776,  adopted  the 
first  State  constitution,  inaugurated  the  first 
governor  of  the  State  and  adopted  the  State 
seal.  Here  in  the  college  library  room  over 
the  main  entrance,  the  Continental  Congress 
sat  during  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1783 
at  ordinary  sessions,  adjourning  to  the 
prayer-hall  on  the  main  floor  on  special  oc- 
casions. 

The  prayer-hall  or  chapel  (now  the  Fac- 
ulty Room)  is  historic.  Here  in  former 
times  were  held  the  daybreak  and  vesper 
chapel  services  at  which  attendance  was 
compulsory.  George  Whitefield,  the  fa- 
mous 1 8th  century  evangelist,  once  preached 
to  the  college  in  this  hall  at  5  o'clock  in  the 
morning;  the  death  of  George  H  was  com- 
memorated here  with  solemn  exercises;  the 


66  Guide    to    Princeton 

funeral  services  of  Presidents  Aaron  Burr, 
Samuel  Davies,  Jonathan  Edwards  and  John 
Witherspoon,  and  of  Richard  Stockton,  an- 
other Princeton  Signer  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  and  of  Colonel  Aaron 
Burr,  former  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States,  took  place  in  this  room ;  here  too  the 
Continental  Congress  received  General 
Washington  in  a  public  audience  in  August 
1783  and  tendered  to  him  the  thanks  of  the 
nation  for  his  services  during  the  Revolu- 
tionary War;  later  in  the  summer  Con- 
gress also  received  in  this  room  Peter  van 
Berckel,  the  Minister  Plenipotentiary  from 
the  Netherlands,  the  first  foreign  minister 
accredited  to  the  United  States  after  in- 
dependence had  been  acknowledged ;  and  on 
the  same  day  the  first  authentic  news  of 
the  signing  of  the  Definitive  Treaty  of  Peace 
was  delivered  to  Congress  by  a  special  cour- 
ier from  Europe.  In  later  years  the  room 
was  first  the  library  and  then  the  college 
museum.  Ex-President  Cleveland,  a  trus- 
tee of  Princeton,  delivered  the  address  at 
the  re-opening  (in  1906)  of  the  hall  as  the 
Faculty  Room  in  which  the  formal  meetings 


The    University  6y 

of  the  Faculty  take  place.  The  remodelling 
and  furnishings  were  carried  out  in  mem- 
ory of  Nathaniel  Fitz  Randolph  by  his  de- 
scendants. 

The  portraits  in  the  Faculty  Room  are 
chiefly  those  of  the  fourteen  presidents  and 
of  early  trustees  and  graduates  of  the  Uni- 
versity. The  portraits  of  President  Mc- 
Cosh  and  President  Patton  are  by  John  W. 
Alexander.  The  portrait  of  William  of 
Orange,  Prince  of  Nassau,  for  whom  the 
building  was  named,  is  a  copy  of  the  portrait 
at  the  Hague.  That  of  President  Wilson  is 
by  Frederick  Yates.  The  most  interesting 
picture  is  that  of  George  Washington  by 
Charles  Willson  Peale,  the  sittings  for  which 
were  given  at  Rocky  Hill,  near  Princeton, 
while  Washington  was  in  Headquarters 
there  in  1783.  It  was  painted  by  order  of 
the  Board  of  Trustees  and  paid  for  with 
money  which  Washington  had  presented  to 
the  college.  The  frame  originally  held  a 
portrait  of  George  H  which  was  shot  away 
during  the  Battle  of  Princeton.  In  the  back- 
ground is  a  view  of  the  battle  and  of  Nas- 
sau Hall ;  in  the  foreground  is  General  Hugh 


68  Guide    to    Princeton 

Mercer  who  died  of  wounds  received  in  the 
action. 

Nassau  Hall  is  now  used  almost  entirely 
for  administrative  purposes,  containing  the 
offices  of  the  President,  the  Secretary,  the 
Registrar,  the  Dean  of  the  Graduate  School, 
the  Dean  of  the  College,  and  the  private 
offices  of  members  of  the  Faculty.  On  the 
top  floor  at  the  west  end  is  the  Psychological 
Laboratory. 

The  Dean's  House,  official  residence  of 
the  Dean  of  the  Faculty,  northwest  of  Nas- 
sau Hall  and  facing  Nassau  Street,  is 
contemporary  with  Nassau  Hall  having  been 
built  as  the  president's  house  and  until 
1879  so  occupied  by  all  presidents  of  the 
University  except  Dickinson.  Presidents 
Aaron  Burr,  Samuel  Davies  and  Jonathan 
Edwards  died  in  this  house.  In  his  diary 
Mr.  John  Adams  speaks  of  visiting  Presi- 
dent Withers poon  here  in  1774.  On  one  of 
the  study  windows  is  an  inscription  scratched 
on  the  glass  in  1804.  The  two  giant  syca- 
mores at  the  entrance  gate  are  commonly 
associated  with  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp 
Act  (1766)  having  been  planted  (or  at  least 


The    University  69 

ordered  to  be  planted)  the  year  before  tlie 
repeal.  The  campus  gate  and  railing  at  this 
point  was  called  ''Lazy  Corner"  in  former 
times,  being  a  popular  undergraduate  loafing 
place. 

South  of  the  Dean's  House  and  west  of 
Nassau  Hall  is  Stanhope  Hall,  the  survi- 
vor of  two  buildings  built  in  1803- 1804, 
for  recitation,  library,  and  laboratory  pur- 
poses, the  other  being  in  a  corresponding 
position  at  the  east  end  of  Nassau  Hall  on 
the  site  occupied  since  1873  by  the  Chan- 
cellor Green  Library.  Stanhope  Hall  is 
named  after  President  S.  Stanhope  Smith 
and  now  contains  the  offices  of  the  Treas- 
urer and  of  the  Secretary  of  Business  Ad- 
ministration. The  corresponding  building, 
formerly  at  the  other  end  of  Nassau  Hall 
and  now  removed,  contained  in  its  basement 
the  refectory  and  was  at  first  called  the 
Refectory.  Here  in  the  stone  vaulted  din- 
ing hall  Lafayette  was  entertained  at  a 
breakfast  served  in  his  honor  by  the  town 
and  the  college  when  he  revisited  Princeton 
in  1824.  Subsequently  the  building  became 
known   as   Philosophical   Hall   because   the 


70  Guide    to    Princeton 

laboratory  of  the  department  of  Natural 
Philosophy  or  Physics  was  here.  Here 
Professor  Joseph;  Henry  carried  on  his 
experiments,  especially  in  telegraphy,  and 
from  this  laboratory  as  early  as  1836  sent 
messages  over  the  wire  to  his  home  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  campus,  these  being 
the  first  telegraphic  messages  ever  sent. 
This  fact  was  the  keynote  of  the  college 
celebration  of  the  laying  of  the  Atlantic 
cable  in  1858. 

The  dormitory  south  of  Stanhope  Hall  is 
Reunion  Hall  erected  in  1870  and  named 
to  commemorate  the  reunion  of  the  Old  and 
New  Schools  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

Passing  between  Stanhope  Hall  and  Re- 
union the  main  entrance  to  Alexander 
Hall  is  reached.  This  auditorium  (W.  A. 
Potter,  architect)  erected  in  1892  by  Mrs. 
Harriet  Crocker  (Charles  B.)  Alexander, 
seats  about  1500  and  is  used  for  commence- 
ment exercises,  public  lectures,  concerts  and 
other  large  university  gatherings.  The  mo- 
saic panels  on  the  wall  behind  the  rostrum, 
representing  Homer  surrounded  by  the  he- 
roes and  heroines  of  Homeric  Story,  were 


The    University  yi 

designed  by  J.  A.  Holzer.  The  high  relief 
tablet  to  the  right  of  the  rostrum  is  in  mem- 
ory of  Henry  M.  Alexander,  Class  of  1840, 
a  trustee  of  Princeton  from  1863  to  1899. 
The  sculptures  on  the  south  front  of  the 
building  are  by  J.  Massey  Rhind  and  con- 
sist of  the  seated  figure  of  Learning,  on  one 
side  of  which  are  figures  of  Architecture, 
Sculpture,  Painting,  Poetry,  Music,  and 
Belles  Lettres,  and  on  the  other  side  Ora- 
tory, Theology,  History,  PHilosophy,  and 
Ethics.  The  quotation  ending  the  inscrip- 
tion is  from  Lucretius  :  ''There  is  no  great- 
er joy  than  to  hold  high  aloft  the  serene 
abodes  well  bulwarked  by  the  learning  of 
the  wise." 

Between  Alexander  Hall  and  the  street  is 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church  mentioned 
elsewhere. 

Northwest  of  Alexander  Hall  are  Holder 
and  Madison  Halls  (Day  and  Klauder, 
architects),  the  Great  Court  of  Holder  being 
entered  through  the  arch  on  the  driveway 
leading  from  Alexander  Hall.  This  is  the 
approximate  site  of  the  i8th  century  pri- 
vate burial  ground  of   the   Fitz  Randolph 


']2  Guide    to    Princeton 

family,  and  behind  the  tablet  set  in  the 
arch  are  gathered  the  few  bones  found  when 
the  excavation  for  the  dormitory  was  made. 
The  tablet  is  in  memory  of  Nathaniel  Fitz 
Randolph,  donor  of  the  site  of  Nassau  Hall. 
The  Latin  inscription  records  that  ''He  rests 
in  our  ground — ^and  yet  his  own."  Crossing 
the  Court,  the  Cloisters  and  especially  the 
Holder  Tower  should  be  noticed.  The 
the  court  is  enclosed  on  three  sides  by  the 
dormitory  named  Holder  Hall  and  given 
by  Mrs.  Russell  Sage,  in  memory  of  Chris- 
topher Holder,  a  Quaker  ancestor  (see  tab- 
let with  inscription  by  Dr.  John  DeWitt  in 
arch  under  the  tower).  The  cloisters  form 
the  fourth  side  of  the  court.  Passing  out 
under  the  tower  into  Nassau  Street  turn  to 
the  left.  The  escutcheons  on  the  street 
front  of  the  arch  bear  the  arms  of  the  orig- 
inal thirteen  colonies.  The  group  of  build- 
ings now  reached  is  Madison  Hall,  joined 
architecturally  to  Holder  and  containing  the 
University  Dining  Halls,  where  the  sopho- 
mores and  freshmen  and  a  number  of  upper- 
classmen  take  their  meals.  During  the  war 
period  (191 7-18)  the  Student  Army  Train- 


The    University  73 

ing  Corps,  the  Naval  Training  Unit  and  the 
School  of  Military  Aeronautics  all  messed 
here.  The  portraits  hanging  in  the  Halls 
are  of  alumni  and  officers  of  the  University. 
The  kitchen  is  in  a  separate  building  in  the 
center  of  the  court  enclosed  by  Madison 
Hall.  The  latter  quadrangle  extends  to  the 
corner  of  University  Place  and  down  this 
street  to  Hamilton  Hall,  a  dormitory  (Day 
and  Klauder,  architects).  The  interesting 
architectural  effect  of  the  low  archway  lead- 
ing into  the  small  court  between  Hamilton 
and  Madison  should  be  noticed.  The  in- 
scription in  the  archway,  by  Dr.  DeWitt,  is 
iti  honor  of  the  Acting  Governor  John  Ham- 
ilton, grantor  of  the  First  Charter,  for 
whom  the  building  is  named. 

Turning  in  to  the  left  from  University 
Place  between  Hamilton  and  the  Halsted 
Observatory  on  the  right,  containing  the 
great  telescope,  30  feet  long,  of  23  inches 
aperture,  and  other  astronomical  accessories 
for  advanced  scientific  work,  Campbell 
Hall,  also  a  dormitory  (Cram,  Goodhue, 
Ferguson,  architects),  is  found  on  the  right. 
The   vista   of  three   arches   and   the   steps 


74  Guide    to    Princeton 

leading  down  from  Nassau  Street  through 
Holder  Court  and  piercing  Campbell  is  in- 
teresting. 

Going  through  the  arch  of  Campbell 
(named  in  honor  of  John  I.  Campbell,  presi- 
dent of  the  Class  of  1877,  donors  of  the 
dormitory)  Blair  Hall,  a  dormitory,  is 
seen  directly  in  front,  with  the  great  tower 
and  arch  leading  to  a  broad  flight  of 
steps.  The  arch  contains  tablets  in  memory 
of  John  Inslee  Blair,  Trustee  of  Princeton 
and  donor  of  the  building,  and  of  Walter 
Cope  and  John  Stewardson,  architects  of 
Blair  and  Little  Halls  and  of  the  Gymna- 
sium, ''masters  of  their  art  and  an  uplifting 
influence  in  the  development  of  architecture 
in  America."  This  latter  tablet  was  erected 
by  the  Philadelphia  Chapter  of  the  Ameri- 
can Institute  of  Architects.  Until  1918  the 
railway  station  was  located  in  the  area  at 
the  foot  of  the  Blair  steps. 

Skirting  Blair  Hall  on  the  right  proceed 
to  the  short  flight  of  steps  between  the  end 
of  Blair  and  the  buttress  wall  of  Wither- 
spoon  Hall  (dormitory  built  in  1877  in  hon- 
or of  President  Witherspoon)  on  the  left. 


The    University  75 

Note  the  Tiger  Gateway  at  the  right  of  the 
steps.  The  latter  lead  to  the  court  of  Staf- 
ford Little  Hall,  dormitory  built  in  1899 
and  1901,  named  for  Mr.  Stafford  Little  of 
the  Class  of  1844,  donor  of  the  building, 
(Cope  &  Stewardson,  architects),  with  Ed- 
wards and  Albert  B.  Dod  Halls,  the  for- 
mer, built  in  1880,  named  after  President 
Edwards  and  the  latter  (built  in  1890,  J.  L. 
Faxon,  architect)  after  Professor  Albert  B. 
Dod  of  the  Class  of  1822. 

Stafford  Little  Hall  is  connected  archi- 
tecturally with  the  Gymnasium  (built  in 
1903,  Cope  and  Stewardson,  architects),  the 
main  entrance  to  which  through  the  massive 
tower  leads  directly  into  the  Trophy  Room, 
and  this  on  to  the  floor  of  the  Gymnasium 
itself.  The  Trophy  Room  contains  the  ban- 
ners, footballs,  baseballs,  cups  and  medals  of 
winning  Princeton  teams  and  individual  ath- 
letes. The  Gymnasium  proper  is  166  feet 
long  by  1 01  feet  wide.  The  running  track  is 
twelve  laps  to  the  mile.  Downstairs  are 
dressing  rooms,  hot  and  cold  shower  baths, 
handball  courts  and  a  rowing  room  with  ma- 
chines for  indoor  crew  practice.    The  rooms 


76  Guide    to    Princeton 

opening  from  the  entrance  hall  on  the  main 
floor  are  used  by  the  offices  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Physical  Education  and  Hygiene 
and  besides  physical  examination  rooms, 
there  are  rooms  for  boxing,  wrestling  and 
fencing. 

In  the  adjoining  Brokaw  Memorial  is 
the  swimming  tank,  which  can  be  reached 
also  from  the  lower  floor  of  the  gymna- 
sium. The  Brokaw  Memorial  is  named  in 
memory  of  Frederick  Brokaw,  Class  of 
1892,  who  lost  his  life  while  trying  to  save  a 
drowning  girl  (note  tablet  in  the  arch). 
Brokaw  Field  lies  beyond  and  is  a  general 
athletic  ground  used  by  class  teams.  The 
Elm  Drive  skirting  Brokaw  Field  leads 
through  Potter's  Woods  down  to  the  canal 
and  was  the  direct  road  to  college  when  the 
railway  station  was  at  the  canal. 

East  of  the  Gymnasium  is  David  Brown 
Hall  (J.  L.  Faxon,  architect),  a  dormitory 
erected  by  Mrs.  David  Brown  in  1891  in 
memory  of  her  husband,  and  below  this  is 
the  group  of  dormitories  formed  by  Cuyler 
and  Patten,  both  dormitories,  the  former 
(Day  and  Klauder,  architects)  built  in  19 12 


The    University  yy 

in  memory  of  Cornelius  C.  Cuyler  of  the 
Class  of  1879,  a  trustee  and  devoted  alum- 
nus, and  the  latter  (B.  W.  Morris,  archi- 
tect) built  in  1906  in  honor  of  Ex-President 
Francis  L.  Patton.  Several  of  the  entries 
in  Cuyler  were  given  by  the  classes  of  1881, 
1882  and  1 89 1,  and  by  individuals.  The 
entries  in  Patton  were  given  by  the  ten 
classes  from  1892  to  1901  inclusive,  these 
classes  having  entered  college  under  Presi- 
dent Patton.  Brown,  Cuyler  and  Patton 
Halls  were  the  barracks  of  the  U.  S.  School 
of  Military  Aeronautics  maintained  at 
Princeton  during  the  war. 

Turning  to  the  left  and  reaching  the  lower 
end  of  Patton  Hall,  the  University  tennis 
courts  are  found  on  the  left  and  right.  Im- 
mediately below  the  tennis  courts  is  Goldie 
Field,  named  after  George  Goldie,  for  many 
years  Director  of  the  Gymnasium.  Beyond 
this  lies  Poe  Field,  named  in  memory  of 
John  Prentiss  Poe  of  the  Class  of  1895, 
killed  in  action  in  September  191 5  while 
serving  with  the  British  Army  in  France. 
These  playing  fields  are  provided  for  the 
benefit  of  undergraduates  not  members  of 


yS  Guide    to    Princeton 

university  teams.  During  the  war  Poe 
Field  was  the  drill  ground  of  the  U.  S. 
School  of  MiUtary  Aeronautics.  The  han- 
gars erected  for  the  "penguins"  are  now 
used  by  the  Field  Artillery  Unit  of  the  R. 
O.  T.  C.  for  part  of  its  equipment. 

Passing  the  tennis  courts  we  now  reach 
Guyot  Hall,  erected  in  1909  (Parrish  and 
Schroeder,  architects)  the  headquarters  of 
the  Natural  Science  departments  of  the  Uni- 
versity. The  building  is  named  for  Arnold 
Guyot,  the  eminent  geographer  and  scien- 
tist who  was  a  professor  at  Princeton  from 
1854  to  1884  (see  very  interesting  tablet 
erected  in  his  memory  in  Marquand 
Chapel).  The  museums  in  Guyot  Hall  are 
open  daily.  The  building  has  a  serviceable 
floor  space  of  about  85,000  square  feet 
(two  acres)  and  contains  over  a  hundred 
rooms  devoted  to  scientific  work.  During 
the  great  war  the  building  was  given  over  al- 
most entirely  to  the  School  of  Military  Aero- 
nautics, the  collections  were  stored  and  the 
space  was  used  for  the  lecture  and  experi- 
mental work  of  the  ground  school.  The 
Vivarium  with  large  concrete  aquaria  for 


The    University  79 

sea  and  fresh  water  is  in  a  separate  nearby 
building.  Adjoining  are  flying  cages,  run- 
ways, greenhouses,  and  a  biological  pond 
for  studying  animals  under  natural  condi- 
tions. 

Passing  on  to  Washington  Road  a  view  of 
Palmer  Stadium  (H.  J.  Hardenburgh, 
architect)  across  the  road  is  obtained,  pre- 
sented by  Mr.  Edgar  Palmer,  Class  of  1903, 
in  memory  of  his  father,  Stephen  S.  Palmer, 
the  donor  of  Palmer  Physical  Laboratory, 
and  for  some  years  a  Trustee  of  the  Univer- 
sity. The  Stadium  holds  over  42,000  seats 
and  is  used  for  the  big  football  games  and 
track  meets.  The  former  Olden  farmhouse 
and  homestead  opposite  the  Stadium  is  now 
the  Nurses'  Home,  for  the  Infirmary  staff. 
The  19 II  Football  Team  Field  House 
across  the  driveway  from  the  Stadium,  pre- 
sented by  Mr.  Cyrus  H.  McCormick,  Class 
of  1879,  as  a  memorial  to  the  team  of  191 1, 
is  used  as  a  dressing  room  for  the  teams. 

Following  Washington  Road  to  the  right 
and  proceeding  down  the  hill  Lake  Car- 
negie is  reached,  the  gift  of  Mr.  Andrew 
Carnegie,   with  the   Class   of   1887    Boat- 


8o  Guide    to    Princeton 

house  (P.  Satterthwaite  '93,  architect)  pre- 
sented by  that  Class.  The  lake  and  boat- 
house  form  the  headquarters  of  the  Univer- 
sity Rowing  Association.  The  lake  was 
formed  by  excavating  and  enlarging  Stony 
Brook  and  the  Millstone  River  which  flowed 
through  the  lowland.  It  extends  some  three 
and  three-quarters  miles  to  Kingston. 

A  pleasant  walk  along  the  wooded  bank  of 
the  lake  brings  one  to  Broadmead  (the  first 
turn  to  the  left)  which  after  passing  through 
a  group  of  half-timbered  houses  occupied 
by  members  of  the  Faculty,  and  crossing 
Prospect  Avenue,  becomes  Princeton  Ave- 
nue and  ends  at  Nassau  Street. 

If  this  walk  is  not  followed,  return  up 
Washington  Road  when  the  Isabella  Mc- 
Cosh  Infirmary  will  be  passed  just  above 
Guyot  Hall.  This  is  the  University  hospital 
and  is  named  after  the  wife  of  President 
McCosh.  Above  the  Infirmary  is  the  Pal- 
mer Physical  Laboratory  (H.  J.  Harden- 
burgh,  architect),  presented  by  Mr.  Stephen 
S.  Palmer,  a  Trustee  of  the  University,  and 
erected  in  1908.  The  statues  (by  D.  C. 
French)  over  the  entrance  are  of  Professor 


The    University  8i 

Joseph  Henry  whose  most  conspicuous  work 
in  physics  was  done  at  Princeton,  and  of 
Benjamin  FrankHn.  This  laboratory  con- 
tains an  area  of  about  two  acres  on  three 
floors  for  the  work  of  instruction  and  re- 
search, and  has  an  exceptionally  complete 
equipment.  Some  of  Professor  Henry's  ap- 
paratus may  be  seen  in  the  Museum. 

Opposite  the  Palmer  Laboratory  the  first 
house  is  the  Princeton  home  of  Jesse  Lynch 
Williams  of  the  Class  of  1892,  the  well 
known  author  and  playwright,  next  to  which 
is  the  Terrace  Club,  one  of  the  upperclass 
clubs  of  the  University. 

Further  on  at  the  top  of  the  hill  and  op- 
posite the  end  of  Prospect  Avenue  is  Sev- 
enty-Nine Hall  (B.  W.  Morris,  archi- 
tect) the  only  dormitory  on  this  side  of  the 
campus.  It  was  presented  by  the  Class  of 
1879  on  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  its 
graduation.  The  Bartholdi  lions  on  the  steps 
formerly  stood  on  the  steps  of  Nassau  Hall, 
and  were  removed  to  Seventy-Nine  when  the 
Proctor  Tigers  were  presented.  The  marble 
benches  on  the  campus  side  of  the  arch  are 
in  memory  of  Charles  McFee,  Class  of  1879. 


82  Guide    to    Princeton 

The  monkey  and  tiger  grotesques  on  Sev- 
enty-Nine are  by  Gutzon  Borglum. 

Prospect  Avenue  which  is  at  right  an- 
gles to  Seventy-Nine  is  the  club  street.  On 
the  left  is  the  Working  Observatory,  used 
for  the  Department  of  Astronomy,  but  with 
the  exception  of  this  and  a  few  private 
residences  on  the  lower  right  hand  side,  the 
street  contains  only  upp'erclass  clubs.  The 
list  of  these  is :  on  the  right,  Campus,  Tow- 
er, Cannon,  Quadrangle,  Ivy,  Cottage,  Cap 
and  Gown,  Charter,  Key  and  Seal,  Cloister 
Inn ;  on  the  left,  Gateway,  Dial  Lodge,  Co- 
lonial,  Tiger   Inn,   Elm. 

The  Osborn  Field  House  (gift  of  Pro- 
fessor Henry  F.  Osborn,  Class  of  1877)  on 
the  corner  of  Prospect  Avenue  and  Olden 
Street  is  used  as  a  training  house  for  ath- 
letic teams.  Behind  it  is  the  University 
Field  where  all  baseball  games  and  espe- 
cially the  Yale  Game  at  Commencement  are 
played.  The  Ferris  Thompson  Gateway 
and  Wall  (McKim,  Mead  and  White,  ar- 
chitects) on  Prospect  Avenue  were  pre- 
sented by  Mr.  Ferris  Thompson,  Class  of 
1888. 


The    University  83 

Proceeding  along  Olden  Street  turn  up 
William  Street  (first  to  left)  passing  the 
Princeton  University  Press  (founded  in 
the  interest  of  the  University  by  Mr.  Charles 
Scribner,  Class  of  1875  (Ernest  Flagg,  ar- 
chitect) and  maintained  as  a  printing  and 
publishing  plant.  It  was  incorporated  as 
an  ''association  not  for  pecuniary  profit," 
and  its  affairs  are  directed  by  a  council  of 
which  no  one  may  be  a  member  ''who  is  not 
a  Trustee,  Professor  or  Graduate  of  Prince- 
ton University."  Crossing  Washington 
Road  at  the  top  of  William  Street  and  going 
on  to  the  campus,  to  the  left  will  be  seen  the 
long  line  of  McCosh  Hall,  erected  in  1907 
(R.  C.  Gildersleeve,  architect)  and  devoted 
entirely  to  lecture  and  recitation  rooms  and 
composing  at  present  one  side  and  part  of 
another  side  of  a  contemplated  quadrangle. 
The  grotesques,  gargoyles  and  other  carving 
will  repay  examination. 

The  Mather  Sun  Dial  in  the  court  of 
McCosh  Hall,  a  replica  of  the  famous  Turn- 
bull  Sun  Dial  constructed  in  1551  at  Corpus 
Christi  College,  Oxford,  was  presented  to 
Princeton  by  Sir  William  Mather  of  Lon- 


84  Guide    to    Princeton 

don  (Hon.  LL.D.  1905)  to  ''symbolize  the 
connection  not  only  between  Oxford  and 
Princeton,  but  between  Great  Britain  and 
America."  The  unveiling  and  presentation 
in  1907  were  made  on  behalf  of  the  donor 
by  the  British  Ambassador,  now  Viscount 
Bryce.  The  monument  has  twenty-four 
dials  in  all.  The  square  block  supported  by 
the  shaft  bears  the  arms  of  Bishop  Fox, 
founder  of  Corpus  Christi,  Bishop  Oldham 
(three  owls),  the  University  of  Oxford,  and 
the  Royal  Arms.  It  carries  nineteen  dials, 
seven  in  the  escutcheon  on  the  west  face  and 
nine  in  that  on  the  east.  Under  the  escutch- 
eons are  vertical  dials  reading  the  hours  and 
also  indicating  the  months.  The  dial  on  the 
south  face  will  not  read  during  the  summer 
owing  to  the  sun's  greater  altitude  at  Prince- 
ton, causing  the  shadow  of  the  point  to  fall 
outside  the  limits  of  the  dial;  but  the  east 
and  west  dials  will  read  all  the  year  round. 
The  north  face  in  the  Turnbull  dial  has 
been  lost  and  the  few  ornamental  lines  re- 
maining have  been  reproduced  in  the  Prince- 
ton replica.  In  the  cornice  above  the  es- 
cutcheons are   four  mottoes,  one  on  each 


The    University  85 

side.  Above  the  cornice  is  a  pyramidal  block 
containing  four  dials  (north  and  south,  dials 
with  ornamental  angular  gnomons ;  east, 
heart-shaped  hollowed  dial,  the  shadow  be- 
ing thrown  by  a  tongue  of  stone  ;  west,  semi- 
spherical  hollowed  dial,  the  gnomon  being  a 
rod).  The  frustrum  supports  a  globe  rep- 
resenting the  earth  on  which  stands  a  Peli- 
can, the  symbol  of  Corpus  Christi  (the  peli- 
can in  legend  piercing  its  own  breast  to 
feed  the  young  with  its  blood).  The  stone 
is  cut  away  leaving  six  bands  (equatorial, 
north  polar,  south  polar,  zodiacal,  and  two 
others),  raised  above  the  solid  core.  The 
shaft  bears  one  dial  on  the  south  side  of  its 
upper  part,  with  an  angular  gnomon,  the 
shadow  telling  the  hour  and  its  extremity  the 
month. 

The  tablets  on  the  shaft  have  no  connec- 
tion with  the  dialHng,  that  under  the  dial  on 
the  shaft  being  a  perpetual  calendar  and 
giving  the  length  of  the  year  of  various 
planets,  and  also  certain  lunar  data. 

Princeton  undergraduate  custom  permits 
only  seniors  to  sit  on  the  base  of  the  dial. 

Passing  through  the  arch  in  the  corner  of 


86  Guide    to    Princeton 

the  court  (note  tablet  in  memory  of  Hunt- 
ington Wolcott  Jackson,  of  the  Class  of 
1863,  erected  by  the  Loyal  Legion)  we  enter 
McCosh  Walk,  named  also  for  the  late 
President  McCosh.  The  Walk  forms  part 
of  the  axis  dividing  the  older  northern  por- 
tion of  the  campus  from  the  newer  southern 
part.  Its  continuation  west  leads  directly  to 
the  Tiger  Gateway  between  Blair  and  Little 
Halls,  already  mentioned.  At  the  end  of 
McCosh  Walk  is  Murray-Dodge  Hall,  the 
college  Y.  M.  C.  A.  This  building,  the  older 
portion  of  which,  containing  the  auditorium, 
was  erected  in  1879  from  a  bequest  of  Ham- 
ilton Murray,  Class  of  1872,  while  the  new- 
er portion  contains  the  lounge,  various  class 
and  office  rooms  and  apartments  of  the  resi- 
dent secretary,  was  the  gift  of  William  E. 
Dodge  and  his  son  Cleveland  H.  Dodge, 
Class  of  1879,  in  memory  of  W.  Earl  Dodge 
of  the  same  class.  It  is  the  headquarters 
of  the  Philadelphian  Society  whose  history 
dates  back  to  the  first  quarter  of  the  19th 
century.  From  this  society  have  grown  the 
Intercollegiate  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  The  Student 
Volunteer    Movement,    and    the    World's 


The    University  87 

Christian  Students^  Federation.  The  sta- 
tue of  the  Christian  Athlete  facing 
Murray-Dodge  commemorates  the  founding 
of  the  movement,  and  is  in  particular  mem- 
ory of  William  Earl  Dodge,  Jr.,  Class  of 
1879  (note  the  inscriptions).  To  the  left 
and  rear  of  Murray-Dodge  is  the  Art  Mu- 
seum, architecturally  unfinished.  The  Mu- 
seum is  the  headquarters  of  the  Art  Depart- 
ment of  the  University  and  besides  a  large 
library  of  books,  photographs  and  slides  il- 
lustrating the  history  of  art,  contains  several 
collections  of  value  and  interest,  especially 
the  very  representative  Trumbull-Prime  and 
the  Livingston  Collections  of  pottery,  the 
Morse  Collection  of  Japanese  natsukes,  and 
the  Kienbusch  Collection  of  Japanese  sword 
hilts.  Notice  also  the  portrait  of  Colonel 
Aaron  Burr,  Class  of  1772,  believed  to  be 
by  Gilbert  Stuart ;  a  replica  of  the  bronze 
bust  of  Lincoln  by  L.  W.  Volk ;  the  original 
plaster  cast  of  the  bronze  statue  of  Richard 
Stockton,  Class  of  1748,  Signer  of  the  Dec- 
laration, by  H.  K.  Brown  in  the  Capitol  at 
Washington,  and  a  cast  of  the  bronze  relief 
of    Jonathan    Edwards,    at    Northampton, 


88  Guide    to    Princeton 

Mass. ;  and  the  important  squeezes  and  other 
results  of  the  Princeton  Expeditions  to  Sy- 
ria, besides  collections  of  Greek  and  Roman 
coins,  gems  and  glass,  and  specimens  of 
Greek  and  Roman  marble. 

Returning  to  Murray  Dodge,  at  the  right 
is  Marquand  Chapel  (R.  M.  Hunt,  archi- 
tect), in  which  the  University  chapel  exer- 
cises are  held.  The  chapel  was  the  gift  of 
Henry  G.  Marquand  and  was  built  in  1881. 
The  mural  decorations  are  the  Augustus  St. 
Gaudens  heroic  bronze  high  relief  of  the  late 
President  McCosh,  erected  by  the  Class  of 
1879,  a  low  relief  memorial  tablet  in  marble 
to  Professor  Joseph  Henry  by  Louis  St. 
Gaudens,  a  bronze  relief  of  Professor  Ar- 
nold Guyot  by  Olin  Warren,  set  in  a  frag- 
ment of  a  glacial  boulder,  the  rest  of  which 
lies  by  the  steps  of  Nassau  Hall,  a  marble 
medallion  portrait  tablet  to  the  Rev.  James 
O.  Murray,  first  dean  of  the  University,  and 
three  bronze  tablets,  one  to  the  Faculty  of 
the  early  sixties,  one  in  memory  of  Dr. 
George  Y.  Taylor,  of  the  Class  of  1882,  and 
Dr.  Cortlandt  V.  R.  Hodge,  of  the  Class  of 
1893,  medical  missionaries  killed  in  the  Box- 


The    University  89 

er  Rebellion  in  China,  and  one  to  Daniel  M. 
Rogers,  of  the  Class  of  1903,  massacred  in 
Turkey.  The  south  and  north  windows  by 
Lathrop  are  in  memory  of  Frederick  A. 
Marquand  of  the  Class  of  1876,  and  William 
Earl  Dodge,  of  the  Class  of  1879,  respective- 
ly. The  west  window  by  Tiffany  is  in  mem- 
ory of  Horatio  W.  Garrett,  of  the  Class  of 
1895.  A  temporary  memorial  panel  bearing 
the  names  of  Princeton  men  who  lost  their 
lives  in  the  war  is  placed  in  the  vestibule. 

To  the  left  of  the  Chapel  is  the  entrance 
gateway  to  Prospect,  the  official  residence 
of  the  President  of  the  University,  a  large 
and  stately  stone  house  with  beautiful  out- 
look over  an  Italian  garden  and  a  wide  ex- 
panse of  meadows  and  woods,  with  a  view 
of  the  Highlands  of  the  Navesink  in  the  dis- 
tance. The  house  was  built  in  1849  by 
Thomas  F.  Potter,  a  resident  of  Princeton, 
on  the  site  of  the  i8th  century  farmhouse 
of  Colonel  George  Morgan,  gentleman  farm- 
er, Indian  agent  and  pioneer  western  ex- 
plorer. Colonel  Morgan  was  a  scientific 
farmer  whose  estate  was  famous  in  his  day, 
bringing  him  into  association  with  Wash- 


90  Guide    to    Princeton 

ington,  Franklin,  and  many  other  promi- 
nent men  of  the  time.  Young  elms  from 
his  gardens  were  used  in  the  planting  of 
Independence  Square  at  Philadelphia  in 
1785 ;  he  was  a  frequent  contributor  to  agri- 
cultural journals,  and  was  awarded  a  gold 
medal  by  the  Philadelphia  Society  for  Pro- 
moting Agriculture,  the  first  to  be  given  in 
America.  Some  of  his  ''Prospect"  account 
books  are  in  the  University  Library.  His 
friendly  relations  with  the  Delaware  tribe 
of  Indians  are  of  record;  family  tradition 
states  that  it  was  at  Prospect  that  he  re- 
ceived in  1776  from  the  Dela wares  the  title 
of  Taimenend  or  Tamany,  the  name  of  their 
patron  saint.  In  1779  a  delegation  of  ten 
Delaware  chieftains  visited  him  bringing  to 
Princeton  three  boys  to  be  educated  at  the 
college  at  government  expense,  and  setting 
up  their  wigwams  on  the  "Prospect''  lawns. 
In  1 781  some  2000  mutinous  soldiers  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Line,  holding  captive  their 
general,  Anthony  Wayne,  reached  Princeton 
on  their  way  to  Philadelphia,  and  pitched 
camp  at  'Trospect."  After  Lafayette  and 
others  had  failed  to  settle  their  grievances 


The    University  91 

a  Congressional  committee  headed  by  Presi- 
dent Joseph  Reed  of  Pennsylvania  and  Dr. 
Witherspoon,  President  of  Princeton,  suc- 
ceeded in  arranging  matters.  In  1783  the 
Princeton  sessions  of  the  Continental  Con- 
gress were  held  at  ''Prospect"  until  the  visi- 
tors moved  to  Nassau  Hall.  The  room  where 
Congress  sat  at  ''Prospect"  was  thereafter 
known  as  "the  Congress  Room."  In  1794 
troops  on  their  way  to  put  down  the  Whis- 
key Insurrection  were  quartered  at  "Pros 
pect."  An  account  of  the  estate  may  be 
found  in  the  Princeton  University  Bulletin 
for  June  1904. 

North  of  the  chapel  stands  the  Joseph 
Henry  House,  the  official  residence  of  the 
Dean  of  the  College.  This  house  was  built 
for  Professor  Joseph  Henry  (see  tablet  in 
Chapel)  in  1837  and  originally  stood  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  campus,  where  Re- 
union Hall  is  located.  It  was  to  this  house 
that  Professor  Henry  used  to  send  tele- 
graph messages  from  his  classroom  in  the 
old  Philosophical  Hall,  as  already  stated. 
The  former  name  of  the  roadway  on  which 
the  chapel  and  the  Henry  House  now  stands 


92  Guide    to    Princeton 

was  College  Lane  forming  the  entrance  to 
"Prospect." 

North  of  the  Henry  House  is  Dickinson 
Hall,  used  entirely  for  lectures  and  recita- 
tions, erected  during  the  beginning  of  Presi- 
dent McCosh's  administration  as  one  of  the 
greatest  needs  of  the  institution,  and  named 
after  the  first  president.  The  top  floor  con- 
sists of  one  large  room  called  Examination 
Hall. 

East  of  Dickinson  is  the  Class  of  1877 
Laboratory  at  present  used  by  the  Depart- 
ment of  Chemistry  as  a  laboratory  for  or- 
ganic chemistry,  but  given  by  the  Class  of 
1877  in  1888  as  a  biological  laboratory. 

Still  further  east  is  the  John  C.  Green 
School  of  Science  building  erected  in 
1873  by  the  John  C.  Green  Estate  and  de- 
voted entirely  to  the  Department  of  Civil 
Engineering.  Across  Washington  Road 
from  the  School  of  Science  building  is  the 
Chemical  Laboratory,  built  in  1891,  also 
by  the  John  C.  Green  Estate. 

Returning  past  Dickinson  Hall  the  Uni- 
versity Library  is  reached,  composed  of 
two  buildings  united  by  an  entrance  hall 


The    University  93 

containing  the  delivery  desk  and  the  card 
catalogues.  The  building  to  the  right  on  en- 
tering is  the  Chancellor  Green  Library, 
built  by  John  C.  Green  in  1873,  i^  memory 
of  Chancellor  Henry  WoodhuU  Green 
(Class  of  1820)  of  New  Jersey,  and  the  first 
separate  library  building  owned  by  the  Uni- 
versity. It  is  now  the  main  reading  room 
of  the  library  and  contains  some  30,000  ref- 
erence books  and  periodicals.  The  marble 
busts  (beginning  with  the  right)  are  Presi- 
dent Withers poon  (presented  by  the  Class 
of  1876),  President  McCosh  (presented  by 
the  Class  of  1873),  John  C.  Green,  brother 
of  the  Chancellor,  founder  of  the  John  C. 
Green  School  of  Science,  and  benefactor  of 
the  University,  President  Maclean,  Class  of 
1816  (by  Calverley),  and  Charles  Hodge, 
Class  of  181 5.  Behind  the  staircase  lead- 
ing to  the  gallery  is  the  Charles  E.  Green 
Memorial  Alcove,  in  memory  of  Charles 
E.  Green,  of  the  Class  of  i860,  son  of  the 
Chancellor  and  a  trustee  of  the  University 
for  many  years  and,  as  administrator  of 
the  John  C.  Green  Estate,  one  of  the  Uni- 
versity's most  generous  and  consistent  bene- 


94  Guide    to    Princeton 

factors.  The  Trustees'  Room  at  the  west 
end  of  the  Chancellor  Green  Library  is  the 
meeting  room  of  the  Board  of  Trustees. 
The  oak  panellings  and  decorations  (Ralph 
Adams  Cram,  architect)  are  a  further  me- 
morial of  John  C.  and  Charles  E.  Green. 

The  portion  of  the  building  south  of  the 
Chancellor  Green  Library  is  the  Pyne  Li- 
brary Building  in  form  of  a  hollow  square 
(W.  A.  Potter,  architect),  erected  by  the  late 
Mrs.  Percy  Rivington  Pyne  as  a  sesqui- 
centennial  gift,  and  containing  the  main 
collection  housed  in  two  stack  buildings, 
administration  and  cataloguing  rooms,  bind- 
ery, photostat  rooms,  seminary  rooms  for 
research,  special  reading  rooms  for  History 
and  Political  Science  and  for  Economics, 
and  the  Exhibition  Room.  Portions  of 
the  twenty-six  special  collections  of  books 
and  manuscripts  owned  by  the  Univer- 
sity Library  may  be  seen  in  the  Exhibi- 
tion Room.  A  complete  list  is  to  be  found 
in  the  University  Catalogue.  Mention  may 
be  made  of  the  Morgan  Collection  of 
Virgils  (670  volumes,  chiefly  prior  to  the 
i8th  century),  presented  by  J.  S.  Morgan, 


The    University  95 

of  the  Class  of  1888,  and  containing  all  the 
rarest  editions  with  scores  of  individual 
copies  of  extraordinary  association  interest ; 
the  Autograph  Manuscript  Collection 
(8,000  documents)  relating  chiefly  to  the 
history  of  the  University ;  the  Garrett  and 
the  Lytle  European  War  Collections; 
the  Collection  of  Cuneiform  Documents 
(1,100  items);  the  Patterson  Collection 
of  rare  and  choicely  bound  books,  chiefly 
editions  of  Horace  (1,000  volumes)  ;  the 
Hutton  Memorial  Collection  (over  800 
association  books,  autographed  portraits, 
paintings,  letters,  playbills,  etc.)  from  the 
library  of  the  late  Laurence  Hutton ;  and 
the  extremely  remarkable  Meirs  Collec- 
tion of  Cruikshankiana,  presented  by 
Mr.  R.  W.  Meirs  of  the  Class  of  1888.  This 
collection  is  probably  the  most  complete 
of  its  kind,  containing  about  900  volumes  of 
Cruikshankiana,  with  nearly  700  broadsides, 
original  drawings,  paintings,  and  autograph 
letters  by  or  relating  to  the  artist,  George 
Cruikshank.  In  an  alcove  of  the  Exhibition 
Room  is  the  unique  Hutton  Collection 
of  Deathmasks — over  80  masks   (life  and 


g6  Guide    to    Princeton 

death)  presented  by  Mr.  Laurence  Hutton, 
and  described  in  his  volume  Portraits  in 
Plaster,  which  gives  in  detail  the  curious 
history  of  this  largest  single  collection  of  its 
kind  in  existence.  Other  unusual  collec- 
tions, kept  in  separate  alcoves  elsewhere  in 
the  building,  are  the  Princeton  Univer- 
sity Collection  (8,000  volumes  of  Prince- 
toniana,  relating  to  the  history  of  the 
University  or  written  by  and  about  alumni 
and  officers  of  the  University,  including  the 
large  collection  presented  by  Col.  William 
Libbey,  Class  of  1877)  ;  the  Garrett  Col- 
lection of  Oriental  Manuscripts  (2,400 
in  number)  chiefly  in  Arabic  but  in- 
cluding some  25  other  languages ;  the  ex- 
traordinary Pliny  Fisk  Statistical  Li- 
brary (5,400  volumes,  14,500  pamphlets, 
44,000  broadsides,  etc.,  and  several  hundred 
thousand  clippings  mounted  and  classified)  ; 
and  the  Pierson  Civil  War  Collection 
(6,700  volumes,  2,500  pamphlets  and  several 
thousand  clippings).  The  Benjamin 
Strong  European  War  Collection,  con- 
taining full  sets  of  official  publications,  state 
papers,   pamphlets,   proclamations,   posters. 


The    University  97 

emergency  currency  and  newspaper  clip- 
pings, all  relating  to  the  European  War,  is 
distinctly  exceptional  and  will  be  of  inesti- 
mable value  in  future  years  as  historical  ma- 
terial on  the  war.  The  newspaper  history 
alone  consists  of  over  90  enormous  volumes. 
Among  the  thousands  of  posters  are  the  re- 
cruiting posters  of  the  Allies,  and  national 
loan  posters  including  the  American  Liberty 
Loan  posters.  Scores  of  cities  are  repre- 
sented among  the  sets  of  emergency  cur- 
rency, some  of  which  was  issued  a  few  days 
after  the  war  broke  out  in  August  191 4. 
The  collection  includes  all  kinds  of  printed 
matter  such  as  desk  cards  and  envelope 
"stickers."  Much  of  the  ephemeral  material 
is  unique  and  cannot  be  duplicated. 

The  Library  contains  400,000  volumes  ex- 
clusive of  pamphlets.  During  the  term  it  is 
open  on  week  days  from  8  a.  m.  to  10  p.  m., 
and  on  Sundays  from  12  m.  to  5  p.  m.  In 
vacation  it  is  open  from  9  a.  m.  to  i  p.  m. 

Leaving  the  Library  by  the  west  entrance, 
the  main  quadrangle  of  the  campus  is 
reached,  formed  by  the  Library,  the  marble 
Halls,  West  College  and  the  rear  of  Nas- 


98  Guide    to    Princeton 

sau  Hall.  Note  the  Library  Tower,  and  the 
statues  over  the  arch,  above  and  front, 
James  Madison,  Class  of  1771,  President 
of  the  United  States,  and  at  the  side  Oliver 
Ellsworth,  Class  of  1766,  Chief  Justice  of 
the  United  States;  below  are  Presidents 
Witherspoon  (left)  and  McCosh  (right). 
On  the  tower  is  a  large  sun  dial  with  the 
motto  "Pereunt  et  imputantur." 

In  the  arch  is  a  bronze  tablet  to  the  mem- 
ory of  Algernon  B.  Roberts,  of  the  Class  of 

1896,  and  at  the  corner  of  the  south  wall  a 
tablet  to  the  memory  of  George  K.  Edwards, 
Class  of  1889,  ''a  loyal  son  of  Princeton," 
whose  undergraduate  room  in  East  College, 
where   he   died  during   Commencement   in 

1897,  ^^^  approximately  on  this  spot. 
The  Big  Cannon  mentioned  earlier,  and  in 

the  center  of  the  quadrangle,  is  a  Revolu- 
tionary relic  which  after  lying  on  the  cam- 
pus for  many  years  was  taken  to  New 
Brunswick  during  the  War  of  1812  to  de- 
fend the  city  from  an  expected  enemy  at- 
tack. It  remained  there  until  1836  when  it 
was  brought  back  to  Princeton  by  under- 
graduates for  a  Fourth  of  July  celebration; 


The    University  99 

it  was  planted  in  its  present  position  in  1838. 
Around  it  are  held  the  Cannon  Exercises  of 
Commencement  Week,  championship  bon- 
fires and  other  celebrations.  It  also  was  the 
scene  formerly  of  the  freshman  and  sopho- 
more "Cannon  Rush." 

The  Little  Cannon  between  the  two 
Halls,  and  behind  the  Franklin  Murphy 
Flagstaff  (given  by  Franklin  Murphy,  Jr., 
Class  of  1895)  is  also  Revolutionary  and  for 
many  years  was  used  as  a  corner  post  on 
Nassau  Street.  Removed  to  the  campus  it 
was  the  cause  of  the  "Cannon  War"  with 
Rutgers  College  in  1875  when  it  was  taken 
from  Princeton  to  New  Brunswick  by  Rut- 
gers students  under  the  mistaken  impression 
that  it  was  a  lost  cannon  belonging  to  that 
city.  After  a  retaliatory  raid  by  Princeton 
students  the  respective  faculties  of  the  two 
institutions  appointed  a  joint  committee 
which  settled  the  question  amicably  and 
finally.  Behind  the  Little  Cannon  has  been 
placed  a  German  field-piece  captured  at 
Chateau  Thierry,  France,  in  which  sector 
during  the  European  War  Princetonians 
were  especially  conspicuous. 


loo  Guide    to   Princeton 

West  College,  a  dormitory  built  in  1836, 
is  the  duplicate  of  East  College  which  stood 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  quadrangle  until 
removed  in  1896  to  make  room  for  the  new 
library  building. 

The  present  marble  buildings  of  The 
Halls  (east,  the  American  Whig  Society; 
west,  the  Cliosophic  Society)  date  from 
1893  being  erected  on  the  sites  of  the  wood- 
en structures  similar  in  appearance  built  in 
the  end  of  the  thirties.  Previously,  the 
Societies  occupied  rooms  in  Nassau  Hall, 
Stanhope  Hall  and  Philosophical  Hall. 
They  are  the  oldest  college  literary  socie- 
ties in  America  having  had  a  continuous  his- 
tory of  more  than  150  years.  Founded  be- 
fore the  Revolution  (about  1765)  as  the 
Well-Meaning  and  the  Plain  Dealing  So- 
cieties, the  latter  in  1769  assumed  the  name, 
the  American  Whig  Society,  and  in  1770 
the  Well-Meaning  Society  took  the  name  of 
the  Cliosophic  Society.  They  were  secret 
literary  societies  but  with  far  wider  scope 
than  the  Greek  fraternities  which  were  ban- 
ished from  Princeton.  Until  recent  years 
they  exerted  a  most  important  influence  on 


The    University  loi 

the  campus  being  the  center  of  college  rival- 
ries and  loyalties  until  the  extraordinary 
growth  and  organization  of  undergraduate 
extra-curriculum  activities  overshadowed 
their  purely  literary  and  forensic  purposes. 
The  buildings  contain  libraries,  auditoriums, 
reading  rooms,  and  recreation  rooms  and  the 
societies  maintain  numerous  prize  contests, 
and  regular  courses  in  composition,  debating, 
and  oratory,  on  the  completion  of  which  di- 
plomas are  awarded.  Older  graduates  of 
Princeton  have  considered  the  training  of 
the  Halls  the  most  valuable  part  of  their  col- 
lege experience.  Among  the  founders  of 
Clio  Hall  were  William  Paterson,  Oliver 
Ellsworth,  and  Luther  Martin ;  among  those 
of  Whig  Hall  were  James  Madison,  Hugh 
Brackenridge  and  Philip  Freneau.  See 
Charles  R.  Williams,  The  Cliosophic  So- 
ciety, published  at  the  sesquicentennial  of 
of  the  founding  of  the  Society,  for  a  record 
of  Clio  Hall. 

The  Graduate  College.  The  easiest  ap- 
proach to  the  Graduate  College  is  by  way 
of  University  Place,  Dickinson  Street,  Alex- 
ander Street,  and  the  driveway  skirting  the 


102  Guide    to    Princeton 

campus  of  the  Princeton  Theological  Semi- 
nary on  the  south.  The  group  of  buildings 
will  be  seen  on  reaching  the  edge  of  the 
University  Golf  Links.  The  Class  of  1886 
Golf  Club  House  is  passed  on  the  left 
(presented  by  the  Class  for  the  use  of  the 
University  Golf  Club  and  containing  the 
usual  conveniences,  v^ith  dormitory  and 
kitchen  facilities  for  members  of  the  Class 
at  their  reunions). 

The  Graduate  College  (R.  A.  Cram, 
architect)  stands  on  part  of  the  Revolution- 
ary battlefield  v^here  the  closing  engagement 
of  January  3,  1777,  occurred.  The  retreat 
of  the  British  follov^ed  in  general  the  direc- 
tion tow^ard  their  base  in  Nassau  Hall  which 
the  visitor  has  just  followed  in  the  reverse 
order,  with  the  difference,  to  be  noted,  that 
at  the  time  of  the  battle  this  whole  region 
was  farm  land  and  open  country. 

Visitors  may  obtain  a  guide  at  the  Por- 
ter's Lodge,  in  the  main  entrance.  The 
Graduate  College  group  of  buildings  is 
formed  around  a  central  quadrangle  called 
Thomson  College  (named  for  U.  S.  Sen- 
ator John  R.  Thomson,  by  his  widow  Mrs. 


The    University  103 

Josephine  Thomson  Swann  of  Princeton, 
part  of  whose  estate  was  left  by  her  to  the 
Graduate  College).  The  student  residential 
and  social  rooms,  and  the  kitchen  and  ser- 
vice quarters  are  in  this  portion  of  the 
group.  Adjoining  the  main  college  gate  is 
the  Cleveland  Tower,  40  feet  square  and 
173  feet  high,  with  a  memorial  chamber  in 
its  base  where  it  is  hoped  a  statue  of  Presi- 
dent Cleveland  may  be  placed.  On  the 
arch  is  the  inscription :  'Tn  remembrance 
of  Grover  Cleveland,  President  of  the 
United  States.  Public  office  is  a  public 
trust."  The  tower  was  erected  in  1912  by 
public  subscriptions  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States  as  a  memorial  of  Mr.  Cleve- 
land. At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  a 
resident  of  Princeton,  a  trustee  of  the  Uni- 
versity, and  as  chairman  of  the  Trustees' 
Committee  on  the  Graduate  School  was 
deeply  interested  in  the  planning  and  erec- 
tion of  the  Graduate  College.  There  is  a 
curious  echo  in  the  memorial  chamber.  A 
turret  stair  leads  to  the  top  of  the  tower, 
from  which  the  finest  view  in  Princeton  is 
obtained. 


104  Guide    to    Princeton 

At  the  southwest  corner  of  Thomson 
quadrangle  is  the  Pyne  Tower  (named  for 
the  donor,  Mr.  M.  Taylor  Pyne,  of  the 
Class  of  1877)  which  contains  besides  the 
apartment  of  the  Master  in  residence  the 
vestibule  connecting  the  Common  Room 
with  Procter  Hall,  the  dining  hall  and 
chief  public  room  of  the  Graduate  Col- 
lege. This  hall  was  erected  by  William 
Cooper  Procter,  Class  of  1883,  as  a  memo- 
rial to  his  parents.  It  is  36  by  108  feet. 
The  great  western  Memorial  Window 
over  the  high  table  is  the  co-labor  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  William  Willet,  the  artists  of  the 
chancel  window  of  the  West  Point  Chapel. 
The  window  represents  the  Light  of  the 
World  illuminating  the  Seven  Liberal  Arts 
of  Christian  Learning.  In  the  predella,  or 
lower  part,  of  the  window,  is  the  Child  Jesus 
in  the  Temple,  surrounded  by  members  of 
the  Sanhedrin,  among  whom  may  be  noticed 
Nicodemus  on  his  left,  Joseph  of  Arimathea 
on  his  right,  with  the  long  beard,  and  Ga- 
maliel studying  a  scroll  of  the  law.  Above 
the  predella  is  the  Latin  text :  ''Qui  ad 
justitiam  erudiunt  multos  quasi  stellae  in 


The    University  105 

perpetuas  aeternitates'  (They  that  instruct 
many  in  righteousness  shall  shine  as  the 
stars  for  ever  and  ever). 

The  seven  lancet  windows  above  the  pre- 
della  contain  the  figures  of  Seven  Liberal 
Arts — Dialectica  (or  Logic)  in  the  center,. 
on  the  right  Rhetorica,  Astronomica,  Musi- 
ca;  on  the  left  Grammatica,  Geometrica, 
Arithmetica.  At  the  base  of  each  lancet  is 
emblazoned  a  shield  with  a  device  appro- 
priate to  the  Art  symbolized  above  it.  The 
traceries  above  the  lancets  are  filled  with 
stars  in  a  deep  blue  night  sky.  Cut  in  the 
stone  below  the  window  is  the  Latin  text : 
"Nee  vocemini  magistri  quia  magister  ves- 
ter  unus  est  Christiis"  (And  call  not  your- 
selves masters,  for  One  is  your  Master — 
even  Christ). 

The  manner  of  treatment  is  the  medie- 
val, the  artists  having  looked  to  the  14th  cen- 
tury for  their  inspiration ;  only  pure  colors 
(about  eight  in  number)  are  used;  and 
these  have  been  superimposed  on  one  an- 
other without  paints  or  enamels ;  the  glass 
is  blown,  and  the  coloring  imperishable. 
The  window  at  sunset  is  unforgettable. 


io6  Guide    to    Princeton 

The  carving  over  the  fireplace  in  Procter 
Hall  is  intricate  and  curious.  Hidden  in 
the  foliage  of  the  oaktree  may  be  found 
lizards,  squirrels,  caterpillars,  butterflies,  a 
rabbit,  etc.,  and  a  tiger.  The  portraits  in 
the  Hall  are  the  gift  of  Mr.  Thomas  S. 
Clarke,  Class  of  1882,  and  the  great  organ 
in  the  gallery  is  the  gift  of  Mr.  Henry  C. 
Frick.  The  carved  beams  and  rafters  of  the 
roof  are  of  oak,  chiefly  from  old  ship  tim- 
bers. The  panelling  and  screen  are  also 
oak  and  repay  close  study. 

Wyman  House,  the  residence  of  the 
Dean  of  the  Graduate  School,  adjoins  Proc- 
ter Hall.  Over  the  mantel  in  the  Dean's 
library  are  hung  the  flint-lock  musket,  pow- 
der horn  and  sword  carried  in  the  Battle  of 
Princeton  by  the  father  of  Mr.  Isaac  C. 
Wyman,  Class  of  1848,  who  bequeathed 
his  estate  to  the  Graduate  College.  The 
sword  and  musket  were  carried  in  the 
French  and  Indian  War  by  Mr.  Wyman's 
grandfather. 

The  Dean's  Garden,  under  the  shadow  of 
the  great  tower,  contains  ivies  from  Haddon 
Hall,    England,    from   the   Martin    Luther 


The    University  107 

House  at  Wittenberg,  and  from  Bemerton, 
the  home  of  George  Herbert.  Set  in  the 
garden  wall  are  window  arches  from  Uni- 
versity College,  Oxford,  of  which  Shelley 
was  a  member,  and  window  bases  from 
Christ's  College,  Cambridge,  Milton's  col- 
lege, given  by  the  Master  of  Christ's,  Vice- 
Chancellor  Shipley. 


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